At around 5 a.m. on Saturday Morning, just as the morning prayers were starting Dar Al Farooq Mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota, an explosion rocked the building. Although no one was hurt in the blast, the imam's office was badly damaged and fire damaged other parts of the building as well. This incident is just one of the ways in which the mosque has been harassed of late. It's terrifying to think that people aren't even safe in their place of worship.
The investigation
According to Global News, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been assigned to investigate the matter.
The destructive device, a small-scale bomb that set alight on impact, is believed to have been thrown through the window of the imam's office.
Shortly after the blast shook the building, one of the worshipers ran outside to investigate, according to the New York Times. He spotted a pickup truck speeding away. The worshipers managed to extinguish the blaze while they waited for the police to arrive.
Hamdy El-Sawaf, President of the Board of the Islamic Community Center of Minnesota, has spoken to the media, discussing how the attack is seen as just another attack on the Muslim society. In reply, Gov. Mark Dayton of Minnesota has promised the mosque and the Muslim Community that the matter will be investigated properly and that legal authorities will not stop working until they find those responsible for such harassment.
The Muslim community is also offering a $10 000 reward for any information that would lead to an arrest being made.
The motive
Recently the mosque has been receiving threatening phone calls and messages, according to the Star Tribune. These messages serve to inform the mosque that certain people believe that the Muslim people are a burden to society.
This is a terrible sentiment to be heard in the allegedly "free" America. The authorities are still investigating whether the people behind these threats are also responsible for the blast this Saturday.
However, El-Sawaf told the press that no messages or actions would be enough to bring the community to its knees. Rev. Curtiss DeYoung, the chief executive of the Minnesota Council of Churches, has also spoken out in support of the Muslim community.
In a statement on Saturday, DeYoung announced that the Muslim community had the support of one million Protestants from the Minnesota area.
There is little information on the matter at the moment but let's hope the authorities get to the bottom of this matter shortly. There is no need for such terrible acts of violence and no place for such words of hatred in our society.
