‘Funny thing is, I’m not Muslim’: Iran refugee responds to hate messages in his home

Hasel Afshar said he came home on Tuesday after a long weekend away to find his chairs and couches slashed, doors smashed and – the worst part – hateful messages scrawled across his walls and furniture.

“I was scared when I see this stuff,” Afshar, who lives near Portland, Oregon, told KPTV. “Really scared.”

The word “terrorist” was written in red spray paint on his kitchen cabinets, “Muslim” on his walls, “get out” in his shower and “die” on his mirror. Other messages included “kill you,” “hate,” “you lose,” and “get out of U.S., you will die here.”

When deputies came to investigate, they said the vandalism to the home rises to the level of an intimidation or bias crime, typically referred to as a hate crime in other states.

Afshar is a refugee who came to the U.S. from Iran seven years ago, he told KPTV.

“The funny thing is, I’m not Muslim,” he said, telling KOIN he is actually of the Baha’i faith.

One neighbor told KPTV that people are reaching out to help since Afshar’s story made the news, and Home Depot donated five gallons of paint to him to help cover the messages. Strangers drove to his home to give Afshar cards, money to fix his home and show support, according to KPTV.

Afshar said he had hope for the people who had done this, but that though he thinks the U.S. is a “great country” it has “a lot of racist people.”

“I don’t want anything to happen to him. I hope he just grows up and don’t hate people,” Afshar said of the vandal. “You can hate me, that’s your problem, but we can go and sit and talk about it, why you hate me, and maybe you just change your mind.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2017 at 6:58 AM with the headline "‘Funny thing is, I’m not Muslim’: Iran refugee responds to hate messages in his home."