Star Tribune
Minnesota Muslims ‘on edge’ after sixth incident of vandalism, now arson targeting a St. Paul mosque
A St. Paul mosque was heavily damaged by fire in a suspected arson Wednesday, the sixth attack of its kind so far in 2023. The attacks are bringing increasing calls for accountability and added security for the houses of worship.
St. Paul Fire Department officials said on Wednesday morning that they suspect an arsonist set ablaze the Tawhid Islamic Center of Minnesota near 430 Dale Street N. Law enforcement say the fire started at around 8:48 a.m., charring the building’s side and melting off plaster. The building was heavily damaged but unoccupied and no injuries were reported.
“We were sorry to hear that the Oromo American Tawhid Islamic Center was on fire this morning. Saint Paul police investigators are working with Saint Paul fire and ATF investigators to determine how the fire started and to find who is responsible,” St. Paul Police Department Sgt. Mike Ernster said. “We’re glad no one was physically hurt, however, we know the importance of this center and we will be investigating this incident to the fullest extent.”
St. Paul Deputy Fire Chief Roy Mokosso did not say where officials believe the fire started, but noted visible flames were coming from the east side of the building, which sustained the most damage.
On Wednesday afternoon, people gathered to pray on the grass outside the mosque, which had spent the past four months under renovation Onlookers from a nearby child care center watched as police and firefighters ducked under yellow tape to enter the building. Some stepped across broken glass and torn insulation as a burnt smell wafted with the breeze.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director for the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he and others on the council have not seen this many incidents happen in Minnesota or elsewhere across the nation.
Hussein is coordinating with police about a potential suspect in the fire who was captured on surveillance camera footage. In the meantime, Hussein has asked mosques across the state to increase their security and for police to bolster patrols around mosques.
“We’re on edge, and we need the public’s help once the suspect is defined to help capture this individual,” Hussein said. “This incident will not impact our faith and our resiliency in the community.”
Many residents gathered to support Hussein and members of the Muslim community, including other faith leaders and legislators like state Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega who said the incidents amount to terrorism.
Rep. Samakab Hussein, who said that he grew up in the area, called the incident unacceptable. Hussein said he would push legislators to hold criminals for such incidents accountable.
“I am frustrated that sacred spaces Minnesotans use to practice religion are being violently attacked. We simply cannot normalize these incidents of hate,” Hussein said in a tweet. “I urge all Minnesotans to come together in solidarity to combat these atrocious actions and uplift our Muslim community.”
Supporters said state and federal dollars could prevent these crimes by funding mosques and helping to pay for security cameras and better lighting.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said that the city would be among the first to invest in such security, adding that he spoke with Mayor Jacob Frey, Governor Tim Walz, and officials with the White House about the mosque incident.
“We can’t just say we don’t accept this, we have to demonstrate that we don’t,” Carter said. “I want to say right now the city of St. Paul is going to be first in to help make sure to invest and provide resources to help make sure we have security cameras at every mosque in our city.”
Carter organized an emergency meeting Wednesday night with local imams and city leadership to discuss the attack and the city’s response, a spokesperson said.
Walz also condemned the mosque attacks, calling for solidarity.
“In the last several months, Minnesota’s Muslim community has experienced several attacks motivated by hate,” Walz’ tweet said. “In Minnesota, we have a zero tolerance policy toward violence. We continue to stand with our Muslim friends and neighbors.”
The fire comes three weeks after Minnesota’s Muslim community was shaken by repeat instances of vandalism and two Minneapolis mosques being set on fire in consecutive days.
A man holding a mask and carrying an umbrella vandalized a St. Paul mosque on May 12, throwing a large rock three times at the building’s front door. CAIR officials asked that law enforcement investigate the incident to see if bias factored into the crime.
Around 7 p.m. April 23, prosecutors say Jackie Rahm Little set a fire in the bathroom of the Masjid Omar Islamic Center, located in the 24 Somali Mall at 912 E. 24th St. An employee interrupted the man as he was burning a cardboard box and chased him out of the mosque, according to court records.
Another mosque fire was set one day later less than a mile away, allegedly again by Little on the third floor of the Masjid Al Rahma mosque at 2647 S. Bloomington Av. The fire caused significant damage before it was extinguished, and worshipers along with 40 children from a private day care in the basement were evacuated.
Investigators found seven metal olive oil cans and what they believe to be a melted red plastic gas canister. The fire was put out before it could spread to the lower levels. Community leaders estimated the damages could cost around $50,000.
More than a dozen imams and other leaders spoke out at a press conference at Masjid Al Rahma to condemn the attacks they suspect were driven by Islamophobia.
Little was charged with arson in both state and federal court, in connection with the second fire at Masjid Al Rahma. He was also charged with a federal hate crime for burning religious property. Little has been linked to other vandalism cases at mosques, and of vandalizing the district office of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Little is believed to have vandalized the Masjid Omar Islamic Center a previous time in January, Hussein said.
On April 10, video showed a man breaking the windows and the main door of the Ummatul Islam Mosque, at 3015 S. 2nd Av. in Minneapolis. Police found a large red metal object inside, but closed investigation into that incident due to a lack of evidence, police records show.
Wednesday’s incident adds perspective for people like Mohammed Dukuly, an imam at the Masjid Al-Ansar community center in Brooklyn Center who says that someone tried to start a fire in his mosque bathroom last week.
Dukuly said the mosque attacks represent an assault on everyone, adding that Muslim residents are crucial for Minnesota communities to thrive.
“We pay taxes. We are not a liability. We are doctors, we are professors at universities, we are teachers, we take care of nursing homes,” Dukuly said. “Don’t you see that we are not a liability?”
Star Tribune
Palestinian officials say an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza killed 15
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on a school sheltering the displaced in northern Gaza on Thursday killed at least 15 people, including five children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had gathered at the Abu Hussein school in Jabaliya, an urban refugee camp in northern Gaza where Israel has been waging a major air and ground operation for more than a week.
Fares Abu Hamza, head of the ministry’s emergency unit in northern Gaza, confirmed the toll and said dozens of people were wounded. He said the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital was struggling to treat the casualties.
“Many women and children are in critical condition,” he said.
The Israeli military said it targeted a command center run by both militant groups inside the school. It provided a list of around a dozen names of people it identified as militants who were present when the strike was called in. It was not immediately possible to verify the names.
Israel has repeatedly struck tent camps and schools sheltering displaced people in Gaza. The Israeli military says it carries out precise strikes on militants and tries to avoid harming civilians, but its strikes often kill women and children.
Hamas-led militants triggered the war when they stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 others. Some 100 captives are still inside Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says women and children make up a little more than half of the fatalities.
Twin Amur tigers born at Como Zoo in August now have names — Marisa and Maks.
Two long-time volunteers who have worked with zookeepers to care for and teach the public about the zoo’s big cats came up with the names, the first to be born at the St. Paul zoo in more than 40 years.
Marisa, a name that the volunteers found to mean “spirited and tenacious,” call that a perfect reflection of her personality. The name also carries special significance for the Como Zoo community, as it honors a retired zookeeper of the same name who was instrumental in the care of large cats during her 43 years at the zoo, Como Zoo and Conservatory Director Michelle Furrer said.
The male cub has been named Maks, which is associated with meanings like “the greatest” or “strength and leadership.” The volunteers felt this was an apt description of the male cub’s confident demeanor and growing sense of leadership, Furrer said.
“Marisa and Maks aren’t just names; they’re a fun reminder of the passion and care that keep us committed to protecting wildlife every day,” Furrer said.
The newborns and their first-time mother, 7-year-old Bernadette, remain off view to allow for more bonding time, zoo officials said. The cubs’ father, 11-year-old Tsar, has been a Como resident since February 2019 and remains on view.
Fewer than 500 Amur tigers — also known as Siberian tigers — remain in the wild as they face critical threats from habitat loss, poaching and human-wildlife conflict, the zoo said.
Much of the wood waste in the metro area is sent to a processing site near Pig’s Eye Lake in St. Paul, where it is stored before being burned to produce energy at the St. Paul Cogeneration plant downtown.
Cogeneration provides power to about half of downtown and was originally built to manage elm-tree waste in response to Dutch elm disease. The plant burns approximately 240,000 tons of wood each year, according to Michael Auger, senior vice president of District Energy in St. Paul.
Jim Calkins, a certified landscape horticulturalist who has been involved in discussions about the problem, said he thinks using wood for energy is the most logical solution.
“The issue is, we don’t have enough facilities to be able to handle that, at least in the Twin Cities,” Calkins said. “So there has to be dollars to support transportation to get the wood to those places, or in some cases, to upgrade some of those facilities such that they are able to burn wood.”
Plans are in place to convert Koda Energy in Shakopee to burn ash wood, which could potentially handle around 40,000 tons of wood waste, but that would take around two years to establish, according to Klapperich.
In some areas of the state, cities have resorted to burning excess wood waste because they felt they had no other option. Open burning wood releases a lot of carbon into the air, Klapperich said.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings