Bomb emojis and the word “dynamite” showed up in the comments after a viral Facebook post falsely accused the Islamic Center of Irvine of seizing three buildings behind its mosque to build a “parallel society.” The Irvine Police Department has since stepped up its presence around the center, and mosque leaders say they are taking new steps to protect their congregation.
The threats trace back to an August 11 post from Amy “Mek” Mekelburg, founder of the RAIR Foundation USA, who questioned why an Islamic “village” was being allowed to rise in Irvine and accused the center of seizing three additional buildings behind its mosque, according to the Los Angeles Times. The post was reposted by a far-right podcaster the same day and garnered nearly 250,000 views, drawing the online threats that followed. Amr Shabaik, legal director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Greater Los Angeles, said the Islamic Center of Irvine contacted authorities, filed a police report, and notified its community about the threats.
Among the comments the mosque flagged: a Facebook commenter posted an emoji of a bomb with a lit fuse, and another user wrote simply, “dynamite.” The Irvine Police Department said it was not aware of credible threats at the time but is monitoring the situation closely and has increased its presence at the center as a precaution.
What Mekelburg’s Post Got Wrong About the “Village”
The buildings behind the mosque are part of what the center calls its “village,” a concept that member Amin Rafiq said was born in 2023. According to the same Times report, the Islamic Center of Irvine village is described as a modern community hub providing wellness, education, and personal-growth services rooted in Islamic principles and open to all. Its offerings include gym equipment, babysitting, STEM classes for youth, sessions on mastering the Quran, and a private hair salon…