Hasel Afshar, Anti-Muslim Discrimination Victim, Gets GoFundMe Page After Hateful Vandalism Inspires Support

A crowdfunding effort was launched Thursday to help a man pay for damages to his Oregon home, which was broken into and vandalized with spray painted anti-Muslim messages days earlier. A note was also left threatening the life of Hasel Afshar, who is actually not a Muslim at all.

The GoFundMe page set a goal of raising $10,000. By late Thursday night, more than $7,000 had been pledged, indicating the goal was likely well on its way to being surpassed.

Read: Trump Welcomes Anti-Muslim Activist To White House

The vandals spray painted messages like "get out" and "fuck you terrorist" and left a note that told Afshar to move or else he would be killed. The note was placed under several bullets arranged in the pattern of a cross.

Social media users contacted International Business Times via Twitter on Thursday afternoon to find out whether there was a crowdfunding campaign underway.

Hours later, they tweeted that a GoFundMe page had been started.

Afshar, who practices the Baha'i religion, was born in Iran but moved to the U.S. in 2010 and ultimately bought the home in question in the city of Troutdale. "I'm not Muslim," the 33-year-old told the Portland Tribune. "I just grow a beard." He said he planned to leave the country to avoid further instances of similar discrimination.

Work has already begun to clean up the mess left by those who broke into Afshar's home.

"The company Hasel works for is sending in professionals to deal with the graffiti and the painting and physical damage within his home," said the GoFundMe page, which was credited with being started by Bodhi Hindley, identified as a volunteer from Portland. "Hasel says he is feeling safe and has been offered alternative places to stay if needed."

Some of the GoFundMe donors left messages of support along with a monetary contribution. "We are so sorry this has happened to you," wrote someone named Jim and Jean Jensen, who donated $50. "This is not our community. Welcome to the United States of America."

Afshar was out of town on vacation when the break-in and vandalism took place.

Local law enforcement was investigating the incident as a "bias crime," but the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said more needed to be done.

Read: Anti-Muslim Memes Rampant After Trump Win

"The FBI should join in the investigation of this apparent hate crime in order to demonstrate that the rights and safety of American Muslims, and those perceived to be Muslim, will be protected," CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said Wednesday.

CAIR's state chapter in Oklahoma released a new study on Monday that showed "an increase in complaints involving vandalism or property damage to Islamic institutions and a similar increase in hate crime-related reports that involved violence" in 2016.