BOSNIAN AMERICAN FAMILY'S HOME IN FLORIDA BURNED AND SPRAYED WITH ANTI-MUSLIM SLURS
SARASOTA,USA - Islamic activists are calling on the FBI to investigate a hate crime in which a Bosnian family's home in Sarasota,Florida was burned and spray painted with anti-Muslim slurs.
Hasib Sejfovic, 43, walked through what was left of his Avila Avenue home Friday afternoon. He looked at the charred remains of his couch, and the kitchen he recently spent $15,000 remodeling.
Ahmed Bedier, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, followed Sejfovic with a camera, filming the words "Kill all Arabs" that had been spray painted in red on the floor.
"These people aren't even Arab," Bedier said. "They are European. That shows you how smart the people are who did this."
Bedier said it is the worst case of anti-Muslim discrimination he has seen, and he wants to know why it has not received more public attention.
"Where are the elected public officials?" Bedier said. "Why did it take a week for people to find out about this? Why isn't there more outrage?"
Sheriff's detectives and authorities from the state Fire Marshal's Office are investigating the arson and vandalism as a hate crime.
Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Chuck Lesaltato said the agency has a detective working solely on this case. However, the Sheriff's Office has no suspects.
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The FBI will work closely with local officials to provide forensic knowledge and other resources to help build a case if there are any arrests, Lesaltato said. The Sheriff's Office is part of a task force, which includes state and federal agencies, investigating the crime, he said.
Sejfovic, who lived in the home with his wife and three children, said he just wants to return to his normal life.
"I'm starting a new life here," Sejfovic said. "I love America and Florida. That's why I come here, but this is not the America I know."
The fire happened on July 6. A neighbor driving by saw the flames and called authorities about 9 p.m. The Sejfovic family was out of town on vacation and came home to find the inside of their house destroyed and their garage sprayed with anti-Muslim graffiti.
"Maybe they looked at the last name on the box," Sejfovic said. "I don't know how they knew we were Muslim."
Sejfovic said his family left Bosnia in 2001 for a better life. They did not speak English or know anyone here. Sejfovic works in lawn maintenance, and his wife works at a local grocery store.
Family members say they have had no problems since they moved into their home on Avila Avenue three years ago.
Sue Sherman, 79, said her church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, sponsored the family when they moved to the United States.
"They lived in a city where they were shot at," Sherman said of Bosnia. "They had to hide in the basement, and things exploded all around them. Now, they move here and this happens?"
Bedier said the Tampa Chapter of CAIR has seen a spike in the number of reported anti-Muslim complaints. Bedier said his office received 167 complaints in 2006, a 50 percent increase from the previous year. Of those 167 reports, 12 were considered hate crimes, he added.
"In part it does have to do with Sept. 11 and people's fear of Muslims," Bedier said. "But, then in the media you have these pundits and conservative religious leaders who demonize Muslims, when they are just as American as everyone else."
Friday in Sarasota, some neighbors on the quiet street stopped by to talk with the Sejfovic family and offer support. Most people on the block said they did not hear or see anything until the fire engines arrived.
Authorities say they believe what happened to the Sejfovics was isolated, but it did not stop some from thinking it could happen again.
"I think we should all be upset," said Melissa Andres, who has lived on Avila Avenue for 21 years. "I speak Spanish, and what if the people who burned their house decide they don't like Spanish speaking people? This is horrible, and none of us should stand for it."
