Palmdale man says his truck was vandalized because he's Muslim

PALMDALE, Calif. (KABC) -- A Palmdale man believes he was the target of a hate crime after his car was trashed and covered in words such as "terrorist" and "Muslim."

Ahmed Muqadarati came to work Tuesday afternoon and found his car vandalized. The windows and tail lights were shattered, with the front grill busted out, and it was completely covered in graffiti. His truck had "terrorist," "Muslim," "USA" and even a swastika spray painted on it in black.

He thinks he was targeted because of his religion.

"I am also a citizen of America," he said. "I'm the type of guy that goes to the mosque almost every day, if I can. I know people see me around, and I'm not afraid of saying that I'm a Muslim. Obviously, it looks like somebody hated me because I'm a Muslim."

Muqadarati uses his truck for his car hauling business in the city, and he parks it overnight in a lot behind Antelope Valley Transmission on 6th Street East. He said he's not sure who did it, but he opened a case with the sheriff's department.

His family is also incredibly upset by the act.

"I don't understand how you're calling us a terrorist, but terrorizing a family by destroying their income. It doesn't make any sense to me," brother-in-law Mohammad Belal Shaghasi said.

The vandalism comes on the final day of Ramadan, the holy month on the Islamic calendar.

"I always thought I was part of America and the American people. I counted myself as one, but this actually makes me feel like I'm not safe anymore," Muqadarati said.