Minneapolis sees two mosque attacks in as many days, suspect at large

Minneapolis has seen two attacks on mosques in two days, with the incidents taking place within one mile of one another. The one suspect so far, a white male filmed on a surveillance camera, remains at large as of Tuesday evening.

 

These two incidents bring this year's total mosque attacks in the state of Minnesota to four, making it one of the highest rates of any state and reaching more than half of the state's high of seven attacks last year, believed to be the most of any state.

 

According to surveillance camera footage, on Sunday, at around 7 pm, a white male entered the Masjid Omar Islamic Center, a mosque located inside 24 Somali Mall, with a container of flammable liquid and appeared to start a fire in the mosque’s bathroom.

 

The following day, on Monday, the nearby Masjid Al Rahma, located in Mercy Islamic Center, was set on fire on the third floor. In both cases, the fires were promptly extinguished, but with substantial damage to the buildings, leaving the local Muslim community feeling vulnerable.

"It's ironic and eerie. We were doing work yesterday at the mosque when it was attacked," Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told The New Arab on Tuesday, describing his surprising in-person encounter with the latest mosque attack.

 

"I was talking about the other incident when I was in the mosque and it started burning. I'd never been in an actual fire anywhere. The fire was pretty hot," he said.

 

Fortunately for the mosque, the fire department was located nearby and they were able to quickly extinguish it and save the building.

 

"Until this person is arrested, we will be on edge," said Hussein, noting that they'd recently learned that it was likely the same suspect that had attacked the same mosque in January.

 

This continued assault on mosques in Minnesota is bringing to light the larger context of a lack of community protection and support for the largely Somali population that attends these mosques.
 

One ray of hope for the area's Somali community is the introduction of a new hate crime bill, chief-authored by Minnesota State Senator Zaynab Mohamed, a 25-year-old who was elected to office last year.

 

The bill, which has passed the state Senate and House, and is expected to become law, seeks to better track and report hate crimes, allowing victims to report to their community leaders.

 

These types of crimes are often underreported due to the targeted communities' lack of comfort with law enforcement or due to law enforcement's lack of training in bias crimes.

 

"These attacks happen all over the state and the country. Community members might not know how to report these incidents or don't feel comfortable, and law enforcement don't always have training in bias attacks," Mohamed told TNA, as she spoke from the chamber while votes were being cast.

 

"It's an idea that's been around for a while. This year, we have the trifecta. The DFL [Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Minnesota's Democratic Party] controls the House, the Senate and the governorship," said Mohamad.

 

"I often worry about these attacks. It's an issue that's deeply personal. The recent attacks and communities wondering which mosque next. The bill is connected directly to this," she said. "We'll be able to feel a little relief to know it's going to be accurately reported."