Hate crimes increase in election years. Minnesota mosques say they won’t be silenced
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Imam Abudalhi Farah saw his mosque become a crime scene nine years ago. Now, as Election Day nears and political rhetoric targeting Somali Minnesotans ramps up, he and other Muslim leaders are increasing security again.
“We wish we were in a space where we didn't have to do that, but the current climate that's being created, there are some of the things we have to do. We have to talk to young people about being safe and so forth,” Farah said.
Since 2016, FBI data shows anti-Muslim hate crimes in the state have risen during midterm and presidential election years. That’s true of all hate crimes nationally, including those against other places of worship, such as synagogues and churches.
This year already, there have been 12 anti-Islamic hate crime incidents in the state, including two at mosques, according to data collected by the FBI. Last month, Minnesota’s chapter of the Committee on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, held a meeting for imams and clergy of other faiths to talk about safety plans.
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Mosques invest in safety features
Farah is the imam at the Dar Al-Farooq Mosque in Bloomington. In 2017, three people from a far-right group firebombed his office in an attack on the mosque. No one was hurt, including the five people who had gathered for early prayers that morning.
Farah’s biggest fear is that it could happen again.
“I think the worst thing is when people turn away from the mosques because they're afraid,” he said.
Over the years, the mosque has invested in many safety measures, including bulletproof windows, cameras and security guards. Police have also held training sessions to teach them how to deal with threats. Farah said having security guards costs them thousands of dollars annually.
While Farah wouldn't share specifics because he doesn't want to scare the community, he said Dar Al-Farooq has received quite a few threats this year.
Muslim community says hate incidents go underreported
Hudhayfa Suhail, an imam at the Lakeville Masjid, said FBI numbers don’t give the full picture, because he believes hate crimes have been underreported by Muslims and some mosques.
“Sometimes people are like, yeah, we just don't want to scare our community. We don't want people to stop attending our programs. And so they might not report it, and they might not share it,” Suhail said.
He believes some Muslims may downplay the issue.
“I mean, it was just a threat — that's essentially what they'll say. It's like, it was just a threat, nothing happened,” Suhail said.
Data collected by CAIR offers some additional perspective. It tallies a broader category of self-reported incidents, not just crimes that meet the legal definition of a hate crime. Minnesota’s CAIR chapter reported 693 complaints in 2025, a 96 percent increase over the 353 complaints they reported in 2024, according to its 2026 Civil Rights report. The organization credits the increase, in part, to comments made by President Donald Trump and the December launch of Operation Metro Surge.
Suhail’s mosque opened roughly a year and a half ago, and while it hasn’t reported any major hate crime incidents, Suhail remains cautious. When going through a conditional use permit hearing last year, city employees told Suhail they had received hundreds of comments in opposition to the mosque, including many with hate-fueled messages.
He said the mosque already has several security features, and he’s looking to add more.
Muslim leaders are encouraging their community to vote
In contrast, the Muslim American Society Blaine Masjid hasn’t received any threats recently, according to Jawad Islam, a leader within the mosque. Despite the lack of threats, he said security is still a big priority, with cameras around the building, bulletproof windows in the prayer room and a police presence during Friday prayer to manage the traffic.
Islam credits the safety to relationships they’ve built with the Blaine community in the 18 years the mosque has been around.
His biggest fear at the moment is that Muslims won’t make their voices heard at the polls this year.
“That the propaganda will get to them and the fear will get to them and they will stay home,” Islam said. “Muslims, we do have a voice, we do have the right to have a voice and to be able to vote for whoever we want.”
While imams and Muslim leaders may not be openly discussing the threats they receive, one message is clear. They want Muslims to vote, regardless of who they support.
“Every vote matters. Your voice matters,” Islam said. “And if you don't vote, then your voice will never be heard.”
