One month later, reflecting on the Islamic Center shooting

S1: Hey there , San Diego. It's Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindman today. It's been just over one month since the tragic shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. We hear about how the community is healing. This is KPBS Midday Edition connecting our communities through conversation. Just over one month ago , three innocent men lost their lives in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. They're remembered as heroes for protecting dozens of children who were in their last week of classes at the center's elementary school , and the community is still processing the grief from that day. The attack underscores the threat of rising Islamophobia in the U.S. , and I'm joined now by Imam to Hasan. He's director of the Islamic Center of San Diego. Imam , welcome. Thanks so much for being here.

S2: Thank you so much for having me.

S1: So I'm just want to start out by. You know , just how are you reflecting? It's been about a month now. How are you reflecting on that? What's on your mind today? Roughly one month on.

S2: So , um , myself and the rest of my community members are still trying to understand what happened , are trying to process everything that happened. Uh , of course , it was a huge shock that no one expected ever to happen at the Islamic Center of San Diego. And many of my community members , especially those who were in the building , especially the kids and their families , their parents and the staff are trying to to to process what happened and trying to not forget , not forget to , but to move on. Um , this is something that it will take a long time , but we are moving forward.

S1: I want to hear more about , you know , what you're hearing from community members from from folks in your congregation of because I imagine it's also a range of emotions and a range of ways of processing this. What types of conversations are you having right now?

S2: We are talking about why this happened. So basically it's not something that happened , you know , out of nothing. It is just a demonstration , unfortunately , of the hate against the Muslim community that we have experienced for so long. Um , acts of hate have been just sending hate mail , hate messages , uh , trying to vandalize the Islamic Center. Um , also , people driving by the Islamic Center and just , you know , unleashing their anger and , you know , saying , you know , bad words and all that stuff. But what happened on Monday , May 18th , was a demonstration was. So that's why we have been always talking about the hate speech. Um , and saying that. Oh , it's part. It's covered by or protected by the First Amendment , you know , free speech. But what we have seen is hate speech becoming bullets , taking the lives of innocent people. So this is the conversation that is taking place in the community at this moment. Where are we going from here? I mean , we we are talking about the prevention , uh , versus , uh , intervention. So how can we prevent such things to happen not only at the Islamic Center , but every single mosque , every single house of worship.

S1: And as you mentioned , you've been kind of dealing with this for several years. This is not a new , you know , dealing with concerns over security. Right. I want to talk to you a bit more about that. But as you mentioned , you know , I mean , Islamophobia has been on the rise in recent years. The Council on American Relations received over 8000 complaints in 2025. That's the highest recorded since 1996. How well has San Diego addressed the issue of Islamophobia before and after the shooting?

S2: Yes , actually , now we're not only talking about Islamophobia , which means fear. About anything related to Islam and Muslims. Now we are talking about anti-Islam hate and Thai Muslim hate. So we believe that the Muslim community in the United States , including here in our beautiful San Diego , is part of the larger society. So Muslims is not or the Muslim community is not a , you know , a community living in an isolated island in the middle of the ocean. So we give and take and Muslims live everywhere. They work everywhere with with people from all walks of life. And we understand that whether Islamophobia or anti-Islam hate has to be addressed , the way we addressed it before is building bridges with other communities , with our presentations and education , um , and talking about who we are and what our faith is all about. Talking about the cultures that exist within the Muslim community. We strongly believe in the power of education. We strongly believe in the power of connecting with other communities around us. So this connection provides or result to having a mutual understanding and mutual respect.

S1: I want to talk about the three people who lost their lives that day Amin Abdullah , Mansoor Kazi and Nadir Awad. Tell us about them.

S2: Yes , we lost these three beloved brothers , and each one of them left a legacy behind. So when we talk about Brother Amin Abdullah , may Allah have mercy on him. He was that strong security guard who always did everything he could to protect us. When we are inside the building praying where we are , having any event. Any activity. Protecting the school. Having the elementary. Yes. Yes. Kindergartners and first and second graders in the building protecting the staff. He has been always the strong man standing over there , smiling to everyone who comes in and making sure that everyone is protected inside the building. Talking about Mansoor. Shazia , known as Abdullah , is a pillar of the Islamic Center of San Diego. He has been there for the last 40 years , since the time the community broke the ground to build the Islamic Center. He was everything , doing everything in the Islamic Center. He was the storekeeper , the cleaner , the cook over there. I have worked with him for the last 22 years and I have said this before. I have never done anything without consulting with him. This is about Abdullah Asmar , Caucasia. Brother Nadir , our male have mercy on him is a neighbor he he lived across the street from the Islamic Center. His wife teaches at the Islamic school , so when he heard the shooting , he could easily hide or stay away for his safety. But he chose to come in despite the risk. The threat to come in the Islamic center , to try to. To save someone , to try to do something. So three of them , they lost their lives while trying to do something to protect all of us who were inside the building.

S1: And , you know , kind of the picture you're painting of these men. It's also just how embedded they are in your whole , you know , in the whole community , in not only the Islamic Center , but but the community in the neighborhood. I mean , yeah , it.

S2: Seems they were not just regular members of the Muslim community. Each one of them was a great pillar at the Islamic Center. So that's why the community is is mourning them still now? Not only their family members , but we are all one family. So whenever we remember each one of them. We still have that feeling of sorrow and sadness.

S1: You know , you started by talking about Amina Abdullah and , you know , his role as a security guard. And , you know , part of me , it's like , you know , what you portray is , is really important and just as courage. But it's also part of me is just the fact that you need a security guard at a house of worship at a school is is really concerning.

S2: It is concerning. It is I mean , all of us , we we understand and we believe that the houses of worship are supposed to be the most peaceful places on this earth. Why do people go to a house of worship , to pray , to meditate , to reflect , um , to , uh , seek fellowship , right? To celebrate this. This is what people why people come to the Islamic Center. So having a house of worship becoming a battleground. This is crazy. Yeah , but unfortunately this. This is the reality. So , you know , I'm very involved in the interfaith work when I meet with my , you know , colleague clergy. In the past , we used to talk about what kind of program do you have to keep kids off the street to give to keep them busy doing the right thing? Nowadays we are talking about what kind of grant did you receive to build this fence around your house of worship , to upgrade the security cameras , to hire the best security firm to protect your worshippers? You see , this is unfortunately what's going on. I don't know , where are we going? You know what kind of houses of worship we're going to have? Like. Like forts. Like with a metal detector with with snipers on the roof. This is very concerning.

S1: I'd like to kind of zoom out a little bit and talk about your own experience , because really , since the start of , you know , the response to the shooting , you've been on , the forefront. You've been attending press conferences , talking to your community members. I mean , and I imagine it's been something of a whirlwind , but also quite , quite draining for you personally. Have you had time for yourself to even process the events of the past month yet?

S2: This is a good question. I mean , whatever I have done , this is the way I understand the way to serve my community. I didn't do anything , you know , extra. This is what I was supposed to do now when it comes to me and my family. Um , yes. We did have a few times to get together to step a little bit , you know , away and try to , uh , take a break. Uh , very needed a break. But at the same time , when I , when I check my phone , when I check my email box , you know , I have to respond to people. I have to reply , I have to call people. So , you know , this is and I totally understand that we are going through a critical time where answers are needed , where organizations are trying to connect with us , to offer services , to offer any type of support. So I try my best to manage my time , you know , for my own well-being , but also for the well-being of my community as well.

S1: What have you learned about the community here in San Diego over the past month? What was what has that overall reaction been like for you? Oh.

S2: I've seen a lot of beautiful things. You know , there are some in the larger society. There are some dark spots. There are some spots of hatred that we see coming towards us. But in the same time , there are so much light and hope and love and messages of unity and sympathy coming from everywhere. The number of individuals , the number of organizations , mainly faith based organizations who reached out to the Islamic Center. The number of neighbors from our own beautiful Claremont neighborhood who reached out. Reached out to the Islamic Center , showing sympathy and offering anything they can do to help. My community was really amazing and overwhelming and I'm so thankful for everyone. I mean , I hope I had time to get back to everyone. I'm trying my best , but I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single individual , every single organization , house of worship , congregation who sent us any message of sympathy and support. I would like to to tell them at this moment. Thank you , and we really appreciate it.

S1: Bringing it back to those three men that you were telling us about earlier , who we lost in this attack. What words of wisdom do you think they'd offer in this moment?

S2: They are our martyrs. They are , as I have mentioned earlier , they left a legacy. Brother Amin Abdullah left a legacy of selflessness. And I can tell you when he when he when he saw the shooters stepping in , he could easily stay in his security booth and call 911 and be safe inside his booth. But he chose to step out and to engage them in shooting. By doing that , he held them outside. He didn't give that give them enough time to go and enter every single room and classroom at the Islamic Center. So selflessness and sacrificing his life when it comes to Mansoor Khadija , a legacy of service. He spent the last 40 years just serving the community. Anything needed at the Islamic Center , he was there. Brother Nadir Awad again , selflessness and taking the risk to do something and to save people. So this is what we have learned from the legacy of our three brothers.

S1: I've been speaking with Imam Taha Hassan , director of the Islamic Center of San Diego. Imam , thank you so much for being here today.

S2: You are very welcome. Thank you so much again.

S1: Thank you. And we'll include some resources on our website at KPBS. Org.

S3: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.