Mosque in Canada Deliberately Set on Fire, Florida Mosques also Threatened

PETERBOROUGH, Ontario: The fire at the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association’s mosque in Peterborough, Ontario, broke out Saturday evening and caused up $80,000 in damage; no one was inside at the time. Officials confirmed Sunday that the fire was deliberately set.

The mosque is the only one in Peterborough, a city of 135,000, and association president Kenzu Abdella said the Muslim community has traditionally had a good relationship with the rest of the city. But after learning the fire was intentional, he said he was certain the arson was a hate crime.

FBI spokesman David Couvertier confirmed the bureau is looking into voice-mails that threatened to firebomb and shoot members of a Muslim congregation in St. Petersburg, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a press release that a second Florida mosque had received similar threats, although it did not identify the mosque or location. The threats prompted the St. Petersburg mosque to cancel its Sunday school.

In Florida, officials are investigating phone threats made against mosques on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported.