Pakistani restaurateur victim of threat

BANGOR – A Bangor man was arrested Saturday night after threatening the owner of Bahaar Pakistani Food, a downtown restaurant.

Bangor police said Jeff Saulnier, 44, of Bangor was arrested on a charge of terrorizing. Saulnier allegedly made threats to the owner, said Sgt. Mark Hathaway.

Hathaway provided few details, saying the incident was being handed to detectives for further investigation. He did not identify the owner. But the owner, Noor Khan, told The Associated Press in a separate interview his family has received a tremendous outpouring of support from Bangor people, including the mayor and police chief.

The restaurant had been busy Saturday night, Hathaway said.

As the sun set Sunday, Bahaar Pakistani Restaurant, like the rest of the downtown, was quiet.

In front of the restaurant an American flag flew on a pole and a paper flag was taped inside the front window. Next to that was a statement of belief, apparently printed onto several sheets of paper by a computer printer.

The statement called the recent acts of terrorism barbaric and expressed sadness at the events. In addition, it noted that the owner has been here for a decade.

“Today we invite you here in connection with the sad mishap of New York, Washington and other parts of the country,” the statement reads. “We are mourn[ing] not only on this irreparable loss but strongly condemn the inhumane, brutal, barbarous, uncultured, uncivilized, immoral and unreligious action.

“What is the justification of this precious and uncountable loss of innocent lives? No religion on earth can support this type of barbarism.”

The statement continued: “We have been living here among you people for a decade and your goodness is witness of our past and present.

“We admit this fact that by religion we are Muslim. The real Muslim is quite different than that of the professional one. The real Muslim is a symbol of love, affection, sacrifice and mutual understanding and we have been showing this attitude for the last decade.”

Bangor police said more information on the incident Saturday night would be made available Monday.

Days after the deadly attacks in New York and Washington, no group has yet claimed responsibility for the destruction. U.S. officials pointed to exiled Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden as the likely mastermind behind the attacks, and many of the suspected hijackers were identified as men from Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, two of the Arab countries most friendly to the United States.

But anger toward an unnamed “they” continued to manifest itself in a backlash against Arab Americans, Muslims and others.

Mosques in other states have been the targets of property damage and threats. Arab Americans, Muslims and others groups continued to report harassment and violence. Police in a Chicago suburb turned back 300 marchers – some waving American flags and shouting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” – as they tried to march last week on a mosque.

Speaking before word of the Bahaar Pakistani incident, the Maine Attorney General’s Office said it had not received any reports of violent incidents from the state’s local law enforcement agencies. The Attorney General’s Office investigates civil rights violations such as incidents or threats of violence and property damage based on religion, national origin and ethnicity.

But people are taking precautions nonetheless.

In Portland, Maine’s largest and most ethnically diverse city, police have stepped up patrols by the city’s two mosques. Officers are trying to reach out to members of Muslim communities, who are mostly from Somalia and Afghanistan. Police are telling them to report threats and harassment and that officers are there to make them feel safe and protected.

Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood said members of minority communities have been feeling worried and staying close to home. He noted that Muslims in Portland come from many places, but relatively few are of Arab descent.

“I think, unfortunately, if anybody is going to be targeted it is Arab Americans,” Chitwood said.

Abu Hamza Ibn Petros also has felt the need for increased vigilance. He kept an eye on the entrance to the Islamic Center of Portland as worshippers filed in for Friday prayers – just in case someone was out to cause trouble.

Ibn Petros, an American convert to Islam, said that tension had increased noticeably since the attacks. He asked his mother to pick up his son from day care and keep him out of public on Tuesday. Also on that day, Ibn Petros, who wears a beard and traditional Islamic clothes, left his job as a janitor in a Portland office building.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.