Fire at Houston mosque was intentionally set: Fire department
Investigators in Houston, Texas have determined that a fire at a mosque that broke out Friday was intentionally set, amid a recent surge in Islamophobia in the United States.
The Houston Fire Department said Saturday that the fire that broke out at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston is classified as "incendiary", which means that accidental or natural causes have been ruled out.
The fire was reported at around 2:45 pm local time on Christmas and caused "significant" damage, the Houston Fire Department said.
No one was hurt, but there were about 200 people inside the mosque about an hour before the fire began.
The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had earlier said the fire appeared suspicious because it had multiple points of origin.
The Houston Police Department and the FBI are also investigating the fire.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on authorities to investigate a possible hate crime in the case, citing what it called a "recent spike in hate incidents targeting mosques nationwide.”
A mosque in Coachella, California, was damaged in an intentionally set fire on December 11. Vandalized mosques have also been reported in Arizona and Georgia.
Hate crimes against US Muslim communities have increased sharply in the aftermath of the mass shootings in Paris and California.
According to a report released by a research body in the California State University, crimes such as assaults on hijab-wearing students, arson attacks and vandalism at mosques and shootings and death threats at businesses with Muslim owners have tripled.
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