A Houston, Texas mosque was set ablaze this morning, on the Islamic day of congregation or “Jum`ah,” but law enforcement officials, and the mainstream media refuse to call this a “hate crime.” This comes just days after three Muslims were executed by a man who had repeatedly expressed anti-Islamic statements in North Carolina. The media and police have termed those executions “a parking dispute” rather than a hate crime.
The Houston Fire Department says that they responded around 5:30am this morning to a fire that had engulfed the Quba Islamic Institute.
“The damage on the back building is total,” Houston Fire Department district chief Ken Tyner explained.
“The whole entire building back there is burned up,” he added.
Congregants tell us that the mosque and attached Islamic school towards the front of the building are completely intact and unharmed by the fire, but they believe this was an arson attack on them as Muslims.
“The first thing we think about is hate crimes that could go on,”Hala Saadeh, a congregant, said. “It says right on the front – Islamic Institute. We’re not hiding ourselves.”
Imam Zahid Abdullah added that just Wednesday morning, he witnessed a suspicious man who had been casing the property. Just last night, he added: “My son was passing by here and somebody was sitting here in a white Ram, making mockery, chanting.”
“We don’t want to blame anyone,” Saadeh concluded. “We want a full investigation of what is going on.”
For now, law enforcement and local media are refusing to call this arson what it is: another hate crime against members of the American Muslim community.