--- description: A Virginia family returned home from a weekend away to find several damages, including a torn Quran and a racial slur on their wall. title: Muslim Family Returns Home to Find Hate Message on Wall image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Muslim Family Returns Home to Find Hate Message on Wall: 'We Were In Complete Shock' by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 28, 2017 10:57 PM CUT by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 28, 2017 10:57 PM CUT After a weekend away, a Virginia family came home to find their apartment ransacked and the words “F— Muslims” scrawled across a wall. The family reported a number of damages, including a torn up Quran, desecrated religious calligraphy, as well as missing [green cards](http://time.com/money/4653353/immigration-ban-green-ban-h1b-visa/ "undefined") and more than $25,000 worth of gold they had received as wedding gifts, [according to NBC4 Washington](http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Muslim-Familys-Virginia-Home-Vandalized-Quran-Torn-Up-417328033.html?%5Fosource=SocialFlowTwt%5FDCBrand "undefined"). Photos show the graffiti and ripped-up Quran in their Fairfax County home next to children’s toys. The family’s beds were also stripped and overturned. > [](https://twitter.com/JulieCareyNBC/status/846780601038524416) Police are currently investigating the crime as a burglary and a bias incident, NBC reported. “We were in complete shock. It’s a dream. We’re just going to open our eyes and it’s all going to go away,” Mahrukh, the wife and mother, who elected not to use her last name out of safety concerns, told NBC. “Especially when we saw that written on the wall and the Quran torn to pieces on the floor, and my painting just torn apart and on the floor, that was just shocking.” Hates crimes against Muslims have been [on the rise since Donald Trump was elected president](http://time.com/4573130/racist-incidents-hate-crimes-us/ "undefined"), with [hate-related incidents](http://time.com/4688420/anti-semitic-hate-crimes-new-york-city/ "undefined") in Fairfax County alone jumping from 60 to 83 between 2015 and 2016, [Patch reported.](http://patch.com/virginia/kingstowne/fairfax-community-gathers-address-hate-crimes "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4715966/virginia-muslim-family-hate-crime/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4715966/virginia-muslim-family-hate-crime/"},"headline":"Muslim Family Returns Home to Find Hate Message on Wall: 'We Were In Complete Shock'","datePublished":"2017-03-28T22:57:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:04:54.796Z","description":"The family also reported a torn up Quran and missing green cards","url":"https://time.com/4715966/virginia-muslim-family-hate-crime/","keywords":["Crime","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4715966/virginia-muslim-family-hate-crime/","name":"Muslim Family Returns Home to Find Hate Message on Wall: 'We Were In Complete Shock'"}}]}] ```