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Arson suspected at mosque

Investigators find a can of gasoline outside the Islamic Education Center of Tampa.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE and MICHAEL A. MOHAMMED
Published April 13, 2007

TAMPA - The fire melted the mosque's photographs, burned the thick, green carpet down to bare concrete.

A pile of singed prayer rugs sat on the floor. Bookcases along a wall held dozens of scorched Korans.

Outside, investigators discovered a can of gasoline, said Hillsborough Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley.

Someone deliberately set fire Thursday morning to the Islamic Education Center of Tampa, a mosque tucked into a neighborhood of tidy suburban homes in Town 'N Country, according to Hillsborough Fire Rescue and the FBI.

Whether hate fueled the fire remained under investigation, said FBI Special Agent Dave Couvertier.

The arsonist found the building empty when the blaze began about 9:30 a.m. Fire crews say someone poured gasoline in a window and set it ablaze. A neighbor called 911, and fire crews controlled the fire within 20 minutes, Yeakley said.

The fire stunned Hamid Faraji, one of the center's leaders. He wondered why someone would burn a place of worship. But, he said, the fire won't disrupt religious services.

"Even if we had a tent and had to operate out of a tent, I don't believe something as materialistic as that should stop education," said Faraji.

There's been trouble before at the mosque, a block building on Rockpointe Drive.

In July 2005, burglars vandalized the building. They burned two pictures on the wall. No one was arrested.

There also have been two minor break-ins - the most recent was nine months ago - where people shifted things around inside the building, said Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the Tampa office of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

Mosque attendees figured the vandals were ignorant teens and did not pursue the matter, Faraji said.

"We need to educate people to the right path and that's why we did not struggle," he said. "The center should act as a hospital. All of us who need help, maybe educationwise, come there to learn."

The mosque opened in that spot more than a decade ago, he said. It's a nondescript building in the sort of neighborhood where couples walk their dogs in the evening and men play soccer on the weekends.

There are those with concerns about the mosque, said Bruce Tokarski, 26, a neighbor.

"Some of the neighbors seem kind of freaked out about it," he said. "I think there's a racist assumption that just because they're Muslim they could be involved in, you know, terrorism."

On average, 50 people attend services at the mosque. They come from surrounding cities, including St. Petersburg and Clearwater. On holidays, the numbers can swell to 300. Children ages 6 to 14 attend classes on Saturdays.

People of all faiths are welcome at worship services.

There's no sign out front, only a chain link fence, soccer fields, a swing set and picnic tables.

On the building, a small sign gives a list of rules for those who enter. Don't smoke. Don't wear shoes. Don't eat outside of the building.

For a place built on religious respect, the desecration of the Koran is especially disturbing, Bedier said.

"For Muslims, the holy Koran is a living miracle and to see it destroyed like this is very upsetting," he said.

He raised concerns about whether hate and anger against Muslims led to the fire. Such incidents have increased each year since the 9/11 attacks, he said.

"Attacks on Islamic centers around the country are on the rise," he said.

In 2005 in Florida, CAIR reported 112 "anti-Muslim incidents," reports of intolerant behavior, including hate crimes.

Nationally, there were 1,972 such incidents, he said.

In 2005, the most recent year available, the state Attorney General's Office reported 16 hate crimes in Hillsborough County.

That year, there were 260 reported hate crimes in the state. Of those, 13.8 percent were believed to be motivated by the victim's religion.

News researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 813 226-3373 or vansickle@sptimes.com.

[Last modified April 13, 2007, 07:19:06]