Tuesday, as fire officials investigated a suspected arson at a Marietta mosque, d, representatives of a national civil rights and advocacy group said the Monday night fire is indicative of a recent increase in anti-Muslim violence and asked for a federal investigation.
Marietta Assistant Fire Chief Scott Tucker told the AJC the fire at the Islamic Center of Marietta (Masjid Al-Hedaya) likely was intentionally set. Investigators are following all possible leads, he said, including some conflicts within the mosque community.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked the FBI to investigate. “Unfortunately we are seeing incidents targeting mosques nationwide. It’s really a disturbing situation,” said council spokesman Ibrahim Hooper. “We’ve got bombings at mosques and people advocating for bombing, and when we don’t see any leaders in society standing up in support of the Muslim community it really sends a negative message.”
Firefighters got the call about 11:30 p.m. When they arrived at the mosque at 968 Powder Springs St., flames were coming from the front and back of the converted house. Firefighters saved the structure, but damages to the facility are estimated at about $100,000, Tucker said.
Two fires, one upstairs and another downstairs, led firefighters to suspect arson. They also found evidence of forced entry at a window, Tucker said.
Mosque members said they had locked the building after prayer less than an hour before the fire started.
A land disagreement almost three years ago divided members into two factions in two facilities: one at 968 Powder Springs St. —the site of Monday's fire — and the other down a hill at 1018. The two groups use the same name and some members still pray together, said Sequin Diaware, president of the group that meets at 1018 Powder Springs St.
The city took Diaware's group to court, where the members were ordered to move from the second facility. The group never had permission to use the converted home as anything other than a single-family residence, said Rusty Roth, Marietta's planning and zoning manager. The group has been granted an extension while the economy recovers, Roth said.
“This is an obvious place for us to start the investigation because this was a split that some people were unhappy about,” Tucker said, noting that there is no indication of involvement by members of either group.
“This is just a normal lead,” he said.
On Tuesday morning, mosque member Malik Zahoor pleaded for answers.
“We cannot believe that any person believing in God would come and burn the Muslim place of worship,” Zahoor said. “We have no problem with anybody, but it is our humble request that this problem should be solved.”
The mosque had not received any threats since just after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, mosque leader Imam Hafiz Inayatullah said.
When the mosque first moved into the renovated home next door, its members used T. James’ driveway as a parking lot during worship services. James has lived at her location since 1963, when she and her husband bought the land from the person who also owned the property where the mosque sits. After she complained to the city, she said, the parking problem was resolved.
For the past year it has been quieter next door, James said. But, she added, “I would feel better if they put their mosque somewhere else.”
Two years ago, city planning and zoning officials cited the mosque for constructing additions to the building without city approval. The mosque operates in a residential area. In the long-running dispute, a judge ordered that the two brick columns flanking the driveway, a porch addition and a rear addition be removed in three stages.
Three years ago, Tucker said, an arsonist targeted an adjacent building belonging to the mosque. In that case, a student at the mosque was found to have started that fire.
Surveillance cameras at the mosque have not been in operation for more than a year, Inayatullah said.
About the Author
The Latest
Featured
