AhlulBayt News Agency: Muslim community leaders are urging Minneapolis authorities to investigate a possible connection between a break-in at a mosque on Tuesday and a fire at the same location last week.
Leaders of the Alhikmah Islamic Center stated during a Tuesday evening press conference that security footage shows a woman approaching the building around 8 a.m., descending stairs to the basement entrance where last week’s fire occurred, returning upstairs, and then smashing a side door window.
Imam Abdirizak Kaynan said a worshipper confronted the woman as she entered through the side door. The woman allegedly made repeated threats to set the mosque on fire. Another worshipper called 911 but was told to contact 311 instead. Kaynan then called 911 himself.
“I told them [911 dispatch], ‘Hey, this is a very serious situation. Someone is trying to burn our mosque, and at the same time you’re telling us to call 311?’” he said. “That’s not logical.”
One worshipper physically pushed the woman out of the building after she refused to leave. They followed her while another person called 911 again. Police arrived and arrested the woman.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-Minnesota, said: “Unfortunately, our fears from last week became reality this week. If that worshipper hadn’t been inside, the building could have been completely engulfed.”
Minneapolis police spokesperson Sgt. Garrett Parten confirmed that a woman in her 30s was arrested a few blocks from the mosque and booked into Hennepin County Jail for property damage and an outstanding warrant.
Parten added that police are investigating any potential link between the fire and the break-in.
Security footage from the mosque showed what community members believe to be the same woman leaving the building around 5:30 p.m. on September 29, shortly before the basement fire began. No injuries were reported, and the mosque’s brick structure prevented the fire from spreading. The basement also houses a daycare serving about 50 children.
The Minneapolis Fire Department initially said the fire was accidental, possibly caused by homeless individuals using the stairwell. Community members, however, disagreed.
“We believe this individual is the same person who returned to finish the job,” Kaynan said. “We believe this is a hate crime, we believe this is Islamophobia, and we believe this person intentionally tried to burn our Islamic center.”
Hussein added that multiple incidents targeting the mosque suggest a deliberate effort based on religious bias. The mosque’s parking lot was also the site of a hit-and-run last year.
He criticized the police response as lacking urgency and called on authorities to treat the incident as a hate crime and take threats against Muslims seriously.
“As a community, we will feel safe when we believe law enforcement is engaging honestly with us and investigating these matters seriously,” Hussein said.
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