Glass shards, nails found outside Huntington mosque

Members of a Huntington mosque found shards of glass and nails scattered outside their house of worship, the fourth such incident since August, a mosque leader said last night.

Suffolk police were called to Masjid Noor, 1032 Park Ave., about 7:45 p.m. after mosque congregants found the debris on the driveway of the building. Police said investigators remained at the scene late last night.

A mosque leader said the building has been vandalized several times in recent months.

But Abdul Rehman Malik, a member of Masjid Noor's board of directors, said mosque leaders called police only after a similar incident Wednesday.

The mosque, which opened in 2000, had "never had this kind of problem before" the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in August, Malik said.

Monday, nearly 30 people, including children attending religious classes, were in the mosque when someone heard glass breaking outside, Malik said. A teacher came outside and swept aside the debris "with the help of the kids," he said.

"This was a very peaceful neighborhood, and we tried to maintain a good relationship with the neighborhood," he said. "I hope it was not really a deliberate act."