Diyanet Mosque in US ‘intentionally’ set alight during Ramadan

A US mosque went up in flames on Sunday afternoon, the latest incident of arson to target a place of worship in the country.

Mosque administrators at the Diyanet Mosque of New Haven, Connecticut said fire officials had confirmed the fire was started deliberately and that federal investigators were trying to find out who was responsible.

“We strongly condemn this arson and act of violence in a place of worship,” the mosque said in a Facebook post.

The Diyanet Center of America was founded by Turkish-American Muslims to provide religious, educational and social services to Muslim communities, mostly on the northeast US coast.

The organisation coordinates with Turkey’s directorate for religious affairs, known as Diyanet, and receives funding via the body.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu posted swift condemnation of the attack on Twitter.

He wrote:

“The recent arson attack in the US city of New Haven on a Diyanet Mosque in Ramadan is another example of increasing hatred of Islam across the world. 

“Our only consolation is that there was no loss of life. Those who carried out this cowardly attack must be found immediately and punished. We must fight hatred of Islam and racism together.”

According to Anadolu Agency, the building, which was under construction, was significantly damaged in the attack.

The Muslim civil liberties group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator.

The attack is the most recent in a growing list of attacks on mosques in the US.

In April, it emerged that a white supremacist who went on a shooting spree targeting a Synagogue in San Diego, which killed one person, had earlier set a local mosque on fire.

A 2017 report published by CNN found that there were on average nine acts of violence perpetrated against mosques each month.

The rise in the number of attacks reflects growing Islamophobia across the US. A study carried out by the New America Foundation and the American Muslim Institution found that around 42 percent of Americans did not believe Islam was compatible with American values.

Many US Muslims blame negative attitudes towards their community on hate rhetoric spread by media outlets and politicians.