text: An anti-Islam group in the Dallas, Texas, suburb of Irving publicized the names and addresses of over 60 Muslims and Muslim "sympathizers" on its Facebook page. 
   
   The Bureau of American Islamic Relations’ post targets those who spoke out against a controversial Irving City Council vote on Islamic tribunals. In March, the council backed a state bill that would limit Muslim influence. 
   
   Mayor Beth Van Duyne accused Irving's Muslim community of using Sharia law to bypass state and federal legislation to mediate disputes through an Islamic tribunal. The Islamic Center of Irving issued a statement that denies the existence of a Sharia court but confirms the existence of a tribunal. 
   
   BAIR describes itself on its Facebook page as an "organization that stands in opposition (on all levels)" to Islamic groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations. 
   
   Alia Salem, executive director of the Dallas/Fort Worth branch of CAIR, said the publication marked the first time she had felt slightly alarmed over anti-Islamic sentiment. “As bad as things have gotten in the past, and especially recently, this is the first time where I see people taking this public," she told the Dallas Morning News. 
   
   Others on the list fear the consequences of their personal information getting into the wrong hands. 
   
   The post has yet to be taken down from Facebook, which goes against the website's Community Standards. Facebook policy is to remove content when it presents a "genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety." 
   
   Neither Facebook nor the Irving Police Department immediately returned requests for comment. 
   
   BAIR also protested outside of Irving's mosque Saturday, where they toted shotguns and held signs that stated, "Stop the Islamization of America" and "The solution to Islamic terrorism." 
   
   BAIR spokesman David Wright said they were also protesting Syrian refugees coming to America and that he believes that people are scared. 
   
   "They're scared to say anything about it," he told Fox 4 News. They're scared to come out to a place like this and stand in front of a mosque and protest Islam. 
   
   "People should recognize that we are peaceful and we are a group of self defense minded people. There's nothing wrong with that." 
   
   There has been an alarming increase in Islamophobic incidents since the Nov. 13 attacks on Paris. A mosque in Pflugerville, Texas, was defaced with feces and torn pages of the Quran. In Ontario, Canada, was police said a mosque was deliberately set on fire. 
   
   CAIR said in a statement that it has received more reports about acts of Islamophobic discrimination, intimidation, threats, and violence targeting American Muslims -- or those perceived to be Muslim -- and Islamic institutions in the week and a half since the Paris attacks "than during any other limited period of time since the 9/11 terror attacks." 
   
   Irving also happens to be the home of Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old boy of Sudanese origin whose homemade clock was mistaken for a bomb at school. 
   
   Also on HuffPost: ||||| Today’s armed protest at the Irving Mosque…. More photos and news articles to come. Posted by BAIR on Saturday, November 21, 2015 
   
   Days after organizing an armed protest outside the Islamic Center of Irving, Tex., the spokesman for a local anti-Islam group published the names and addresses “of every Muslim and Muslim sympathizer that stood up for … Sharia tribunals in Irving,” according to the the Dallas Morning News. 
   
   Posted to Facebook on Wednesday by David Wright III, the list has since been removed, the Morning News reported. 
   
   The list was copy-pasted from an Irving city document containing the personal information of people who signed up to speak against a state bill targeting the influence of Islam in America, according to the Morning News. 
   
   Wright was identified by the newspaper as the spokesman for the Bureau of American Islamic Relations (BAIR) — a play on the name of a leading Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Last weekend, several members of the group — including Wright — protested in front of the Islamic Center of Irving, a mosque in the Dallas suburb where a ninth-grader was arrested for bringing to school what some thought looked like a homemade bomb but was actually a homemade clock. 
   
   As The Washington Post’s Justin Moyer wrote of the protesters: “They had guns. They had a flag. They had a Ted Cruz sign and one that read ‘Stop the Islamization of America.'” 
   
   “It’s a boiling pot,” one man told the local Fox affiliate. “The kettle … the top on this kettle is on really, really tight, and it is going to blow.” 
   
   Meanwhile, in Texas, there was an armed protest outside a mosque https://t.co/SXiXw249oK pic.twitter.com/XG9BHMTr2g — i100 (@thei100) November 26, 2015 
   
   [Armed protesters gather outside mosque in clock kid’s home town] 
   
   On his personal Facebook page, Wright wrote this week: “We should stop being afraid to be who we are! We like to have guns designed to kill people that pose a threat in a very efficient manner.” 
   
   He added: “My gun is an assault weapon, it is for the sole purpose of assaulting anyone who tries to hurt or kill me or mine. Why is that wrong? How is that bad? Its a weapon designed to assault people not animals so… I can’t think of any other way to explain it.” 
   
   A 20 year old protestor who didn't want to be identified because he's enlisting in the military geeks out on his gun pic.twitter.com/2tcSmK6G5b — Avi Selk (@aviselk) November 21, 2015 
   
   The members of the armed group that gathered outside the mosque said they were moved to protest after the Paris attacks, the Dallas Morning News noted in an editorial slamming the move. 
   
   “AR-15s at a place of worship? That is out of bounds, and it shows how very close we are to chaos,” the editorial reads. 
   
   Editorial: Armed protest at Irving mosque out of bounds | @DMNOpinion https://t.co/ReFcjqozN4 pic.twitter.com/CDq3HQ2A8V — Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) November 24, 2015 
   
   This is far from Irving’s first Islam-related controversy. The city earned international attention in September when 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed was arrested for his homemade clock that was mistaken for a bomb. The teenager subsequently received support from President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google, among others, and his family is now seeking $15 million from the city. 
   
   [The history of anti-Islam controversy in Ahmed Mohamed’s Texas city] 
   
   Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne also attracted the national spotlight this year, when she railed against what she described as a “Sharia Law Court” in her city. Critics say Van Duyne blew out of proportion a voluntary and non-binding dispute mediation service. 
   
   “Similar religious tribunals have existed for decades in the American Jewish and American Christian faith communities to resolve disputes, most especially within families,” the Islamic Center of Irving said in a statement at the time. 
   
   Van Duyne subsequently encouraged the Irving City Council to endorse a state bill that critics said unfairly targeted Muslims. The names and addresses published this week belonged to individuals who signed up to speak against that bill at a city council meeting in March. 
   
   Armed Demonstration in front of the Islamic Center of Irving focused on stopping "Islamization of America" pic.twitter.com/iRQI4eqPjO — Zahid Arab (@ZahidArabFox4) November 21, 2015 
   
   “This is the first time I’ve been slightly alarmed,” Alia Salem, executive director of CAIR’s Dallas/Fort Worth branch, told the Dallas Morning News after the list was published. “As bad as things have gotten in the past, and especially recently, this is the first time where I see people taking this public.” 
   
   Referring to those who spoke at the city council meeting, Salem said: “This is my job to deal with this kind of stuff. But for an everyday citizen who was just exerting their First Amendment rights and their right as an American to speak up and speak out, they were just being good citizens to show up and be a part of the democratic process. Now they are targets.” 
   
   Read more: 
   
   Why a ninth-grader’s arrest over a home-built clock struck a chord across America ||||| One final update… I can confirm that Facebook took down the list of names after getting complaints about it. That information from the BAIR spokesman and a complainant, who sent me this: 
   
   Thanksgiving update by Avi Selk: The list of Muslim names and addresses has been removed from the armed group’s page, and BAIR spokesman David Wright’s personal Facebook page is either down or blocked. It’s unclear whether that was voluntary or the result of complaints about the list to Facebook (from the Huffington Post, among others.) 
   
   It’s a bit late, anyway. Since we first reported the list’s existence 24 hours ago, it has made headlines from the Drudge Report to MSNBC—where host Chris Hayes spent several minutes last night detailing Irving’s intersections with an anti-Muslim fringe. 
   
   Turns out, there’s no lack of what BAIR calls “Muslim sympathizers” in the country. RSVPs for a pro-Muslim rally have more than doubled in the last day, with nearly 250 people now committing to brave Saturday’s chilly rain to support Irving’s mosque. 
   
   The imam of that mosque Facebooked an email from an “old lady school teacher” who offered to guard the building—one of hundreds of goodwill messages the imam said have poured in since a dozen BAIR members brought guns to the worship site last weekend. 
   
   Meanwhile, a page set up specifically to troll BAIR has in a few days gained nearly as many likes as the anti-Muslim group itself. 
   
   Group spokesman David Wright got into a running argument with the leader of the troll page yesterday—even as news of his list spread across the country—before finally becoming exasperated and signing off. 
   
   On another Facebook page that still hosts the list and appears to belong to Wright (I can’t be 100% sure given all the trolling and the fact that he won’t answer messages), a post complains: “I am being attacked and smeared by the liberal media for legally exercising my 1st and 2nd Amendment rights and for using public data to defend my credibility when they make accusations against me. … 
   
   “If we had a hit list and wanted to run down that list, you would have already seen it on the news.” 
   
   Original post (Wednesday) by Julie Fancher and Avi Selk: The organizer of a recent armed anti-Muslim protest at an Irving mosque published the names and addresses of dozens of Muslims and “Muslim sympathizers” online Wednesday. 
   
   David Wright III copied an Irving city document that included the personal information of people who signed up to speak before the City Council voted in March to support a state bill aimed at blocking Muslim influence. 
   
   Wright, who organized Saturday’s armed protest against the “Islamization of America” outside the Irving Islamic Center, posted on Facebook “the name and address of every Muslim and Muslim sympathizer that stood up for … Sharia tribunals in Irving.” 
   
   Multiple attempts to reach Wright for comment were not successful. 
   
   Anthony Bond, an Irving activist who spoke against the state bill before the City Council, said he was shocked to find his name on the Facebook list. 
   
   “We have a right to disagree, but we do not have the right to target and cause … harm just because we differ in our beliefs,” he said. “That is the goal of this post: to put a bulls-eye on the back of all the people that stood up against the so-called anti-Shariah law bill.” 
   
   Bond said he had reported his concerns to Irving police. 
   
   Irving police spokesman James McLellan said he was unaware of any complaints about the list. 
   
   “If we do receive any contacts or concerns from anyone involved, then of course we will respond appropriately,” he said. 
   
   Alia Salem, executive director of the Dallas/Fort Worth branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said she was “absolutely concerned” after finding her name on the list. 
   
   “This is the first time I’ve been slightly alarmed,” she said. “As bad as things have gotten in the past, and especially recently, this is the first time where I see people taking this public.” 
   
   Salem said that though she was concerned about her personal information being online, she didn’t want to place undue importance on the anti-Muslim protesters. 
   
   “I don’t want to give them any credibility at all, but at the same time when you are publicizing people’s names … I’m trying to take this in stride,” she said. “It doesn’t seem to be getting much traction, and we are definitely getting support — people are horrified.” 
   
   Salem said that she had talked to other people on the list who shared her concerns. 
   
   “This is my job to deal with this kind of stuff,” she said. “But for an everyday citizen who was just exerting their First Amendment rights and their right as an American to speak up and speak out, they were just being good citizens to show up and be a part of the democratic process. Now they are targets.” 
   
   She said she plans to discuss the situation with the FBI and Justice Department. 
   
   “We don’t know what this could lead to,” she said. 
   
   The list Wright posted also contained the names and addresses of people who supported the city’s efforts to limit Muslim influence. 
   
   Jacqualea Cooley, who said she was unaware her name and address had been posted online, acknowledged Wright’s freedom to post the publicly available information. But she did express concerns. 
   
   “If it gets into hands of the wrong people … some harm could be done,” she said. “… We have a very volatile Muslim community right now, I don’t know if there are people there that would act on information or not.” 
   
   Cooley said some opponents had been misidentified as supporters of the city’s efforts, though she said the problems may have originated in the city’s records. 
   
   “This is how misinformation gets out,” she said. 
   
   Shortly before Wright posted the list online, he wrote on Facebook: “We should stop being afraid to be who we are! We like to have guns designed to kill people that pose a threat in a very efficient manner.” 
   
   Wright and other members of his group, the Bureau on American Islamic Relations, say they carry guns only in self-defense and weren’t trying to intimidate anyone at Saturday’s protest. But they are convinced that the U.S. is due for violent conflict with Muslims. 
   
   At Saturday’s protest, Wright said he’d chosen the Irving mosque in part because area Muslims had threatened to kill Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne — something The Dallas Morning News has found no evidence of. 
   
   Van Duyne, who has frequently raised concerns about the spread of Islamic influence, said Wednesday that she was in no way affiliated with the group and declined to comment on the list. 
   
   City Council member David Palmer said that though the names and addresses were public information, posting them online appeared to be an attempt to spread fear. 
   
   “I don’t know why they would publish this other than for intimidation purposes,” he said. “And whether you’re pro or against, continue to speak your mind.” 
   
   Palmer said he had stopped by Saturday’s rally after a mosque member raised concerns about the armed protesters. 
   
   “I went out there … to observe,” he said. “I fully support their right to protest, their or anyone else really, to protest. What I felt uncomfortable about was that they needed to bring weapons to a place of worship.” 
   
   Another rally is planned Saturday at the Islamic Center to protest Wright’s group and show support for area Muslims. 
   
   “The mosque in Irving receives a lot of hate and ugliness,” said Tonya Cadenhead, an Irving resident who is organizing the event, which begins at noon at the mosque at 2555 Esters Road. “I decided to do something nice for them and show them not everyone has an ugly heart.” 
   
   aselk@dallasnews.com; 
   
   jfancher@dallasnews.com 
   
   Twitter: @aviselk; @juliefancher
target: – The group responsible for an armed anti-Muslim protest at a Dallas-area mosque last weekend posted a list containing the names and addresses of dozens of Muslims and "Muslim sympathizers" to Facebook on Wednesday, the Dallas Morning News reports. According to the Huffington Post, the list contained personal information about more than 60 people pulled from an official document of individuals who signed up to speak at a city council debate on "limiting Muslim influence" earlier this year. “This is the first time I’ve been slightly alarmed," the head of a local Islamic group tells the Morning News. "They were just being good citizens to show up and be a part of the democratic process. Now they are targets.” David Wright led the armed protest outside the Irving Islamic Center last weekend and appears to be behind the list, which has since been removed from Facebook, the Morning News reports. While Wright's organization, BAIR, states its intention isn't to intimidate anyone, people whose names were on the list say it couldn't have been meant for any other reason than to put a target on their backs. The Washington Post quotes a number of Facebook posts from Wright this week, including, "We like to have guns designed to kill people that pose a threat in a very efficient manner," and "My gun is an assault weapon ... It's a weapon designed to assault people not animals." The list may have backfired: The Morning News notes RSVPs for a pro-Muslim rally scheduled for Saturday at the mosque had more than doubled in 24 hours.