SD Muslim community fears retaliation following foiled terror plot

By Amy Isackson / Border Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published August 9, 2006 at 9:00 PM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

San Diego's Muslim community is worried about a backlash after the discovery of the plan to bomb American Airliners. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.

San Diego's Muslim community is worried about a backlash after the discovery of the plan to bomb American Airliners. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.

While air passengers across the state were inconvenienced by heightened security, Muslim groups were also put on alert. Edgar Hopida, spokesman for San Diego's branch of the Council on American Islamic Relations, says his group has contacted the FBI and San Diego Police in anticipation of retaliation.

Hopida: "Whenever something happens negatively across the world whether it be a terror attack perpetuated by Muslims, unfortunately some people take it upon themselves to lash out at their local Muslim communities. Whether through vandalism individual or groups harassment. These are the things we anticipate."

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Hopida says his group has not received any threats so far, but they want to be prepared. San Diego's Islamic Center was the target of multiple threats after 9-11. Amy Isackson KPBS News.

Amy Isackson

Amy Isackson was the border reporter at KPBS from 2004 to 2011. She covered breaking news and feature stories on California-Mexico border issues and immigration, for local and national broadcast. Amy got her start in public radio by pitching a series of stories about rural New Zealand - horse dentistry and sheep sheering - to Radio New Zealand's "Country Life" program. She then worked with Peabody Award-winning radio producers Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson, to help create the Sonic Memorial, a series of stories on the World Trade Center before, during and after 9/11. Amy's work has been recognized with awards from the Associated Press Television-Radio Association of California and Nevada, the California Chicano News Media Association, and the San Diego Press Club. She won the Sol Price Prize for Responsible Journalism in 2009 from the Society of Professional Journalists for her story about high school students smuggling people and drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border. Prior to venturing into the wonderful world of public radio, Amy worked for Yahoo! Inc. for nearly five years as an editorial surfer, associate producer and broadcast communications manager. She majored in Latin American History at Williams College. She grew up in San Diego and made frequent trips south of the border.

See stories by Amy Isackson