Only A Matter of Time

April 26, 2012

Philadelphia-area Muslims are offering a $20,000 crimestoppers reward after a series of recent bank robberies and a homicide by men wearing women's Islamic garb to conceal their identities, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The Majlis Ash Shura, which represents dozens of Muslim congregations, offered the reward at a news conferfence Tuesday attended by elected officials, including the district attorney, at City Hall.

WATCH:  Video of Philly bank robberies

There have been five bank robberies in Philadelphia since December by men wearing a loose dress, or abaya, and a head covering known as a niqab.
One man charged with an April 18 killing in a barber shop allegedly wore a woman's robe as part of a robbery ruse.
"Whatever happened to the mask?" asks Imam Asim Abdul-Rashid, head of the Masajid of the Delaware Valley, the newspaper reports.
Muslim leaders fear that women wearing the traditional garb will be ostracized and targeted, The Inquirer reports.
Amir Imam al-Atharee, a member of the Majlis Ash Shura, says this kind of activity "makes it dangerous for Muslim women and the community."