Minnesota Muslim community members urge vigilance amid Israel-Hamas war

While waiting to fill up at a Minneapolis gas station, a Somali woman said she was attacked by another woman with fists, a sharp object and Islamophobic threats last week.

It's one of several reports of Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents, which have increased in Minnesota and around the country after the Israel-Hamas war broke out last month.

"There's a great deal of fear ... I believe in both the Muslim community as well as the Jewish community," said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the local Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Minnesota), which encouraged community members to remain vigilant Tuesday. "This incident highlights those fears."

Sabrina Yahya, of Minneapolis, said she waited at the busy Holiday gas station on E. Franklin Av. on Nov. 2, Hussein explained at a news conference. When she believed it was her turn at the pump, she pulled up and got out of her car. Another woman approached her and began to verbally assault her. Another patron came to Yahya's defense, and security broke up the fight, Hussein said.

The other woman retrieved a sharp object and assaulted Yahya and the good Samaritan and the security guard. Yahya, 44, was bleeding from her eye and said the good Samaritan's shirt was covered in blood. Someone called 911 and the woman fled. With her mother in her car, Yahya followed the woman into the neighborhood, where the woman left her vehicle and continued to verbally assault Yahya, making it clear that she hates Muslims, Hussein said.

Minneapolis Police took her information and paramedics rendered aid. Police are still investigating, Hussein said.

Yahya is still experiencing pain and headaches, with plans to see a specialist later this week, she said through a translator. Her eye was swollen with visible dark bruising Tuesday.

"I'm seeking justice for what took place. I'm a mother who was wrongfully attacked," she said.

In a typical month, CAIR-Minnesota hears reports of five to 10 serious complaints of Islamophobic incidents. Since the war broke out one month ago, the organization has received 50 complaints, Hussein said.