The New Zealand attacks, which killed at least 49 people and injured dozens of others, occurred during morning prayers in the city of Christchurch.
Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, this nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said Friday that Muslims around the world were in mourning and needed to exercise caution as they attended prayers. He said the attacks were part of a rising incidence of intolerance in the United States and abroad.
“We are united against hate speech that sees immigrants as invaders,” Awad said at a news conference in Washington. “One should not tolerate hate speech because hate speech leads to violence. Now we are looking at the result of hate speech.”
In New York and other major U.S. cities, police intensified security around mosques. Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city had decided to increase police presence at mosques throughout the city “out of an abundance of caution.”
“New Yorkers heading to prayer can be confident that their city will protect them,” he said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who is one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, said on Twitter that the attacks in Christchurch were “chilling news to wake up to.”
“In the face of this horror, I’m mourning with, and holding our community extra close today,” she said. “We must not live in fear.”
In Pittsburgh, where an attack last year on the Tree of Life synagogue killed 11 people, city officials said they had “heavy hearts and an all-too-intimate understanding of what the people of New Zealand are enduring.”
The city said its officers had been in contact with local Islamic leaders and had increased patrols at mosques and other areas.
“Pittsburgh will protect all houses of worship and the right to freely and safely practice your religion without fear,” the city said in a statement.
And in St. Paul, home to a large Muslim community, the police department assured residents that they would be protected.
“We want our Muslim family members, friends and neighbors to know that we’ll do everything possible to keep you safe and secure in the city we share,” the department said in a Tweet.
President Donald Trump denounced the attacks. “My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques'” he wrote on Twitter. “The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all!”
As happened after the Tree of Life shootings and other terror attacks, the killings at the mosque revived criticism in the United States and globally that political leaders had been partly responsible for creating an environment that had made people comfortable expressing racist views.
“The president’s rhetoric is part of the problem,” said Iman Boukadoum, a senior staff attorney with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, a civil rights organization based in Washington.
Around the nation, Muslims expressed trepidation about worshipping on Friday, a day reserved for communal prayer. In Chicago, the Muslim Community Center, one of the city’s oldest mosques, said it had requested extra police at its schools and other facilities and would hire more security staff as well.
“Please be vigilant by keeping your eyes and ears open and being aware of your surroundings,” the center said in a Facebook post.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.