Suspect Arrested in Arson Fire in Mosque Outside Toledo
Authorities arrested a suspect Tuesday they believe set fire Sunday to a suburban Toledo mosque, an act that has spread fear through the Muslim community around Lucas County.
The man, whose name was not released, was arrested near Fort Wayne, Ind., and has been charged with two counts of aggravated arson, one count of aggravated burglary and one count of carrying a concealed weapon, Perrysburg Township Police detective Sgt. James Gross said.
Authorities are convinced he is the same person captured by a surveillance camera outside the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo in Perrysburg Township, which was set o fire about 5 p.m. Sunday, Gross said.
Security remained tight Tuesday at the center. The fire was ruled an arson on Monday.
Local Muslims said the fire was probably started in reaction to protests in the Middle East over an anti-Islamic movie posted on YouTube.
“The community is scared,” said Ammar Alo, a Toledo attorney, who is active in the Muslim community. “Everyone is on guard for fear of it happening again.
The mosque could be shut for months. Alo said he was told repairs may cost $1 million.
“It is one of the oldest mosques in the United States,” he said. “It’s an Ohio landmark. For someone to do this to such a place of love is just despicable.”
The mosque was a target shortly after the events of 9/11. A shot was fired through a window.
Gross said the investigation is ongoing and police are working with the agents from the FBI, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and state agencies. Further charges could be forthcoming.
The fire was started in a second-floor prayer room. It set off a building-wide sprinkler system, which flooded the huge structure. Smoke from the fire, pulled into the heating and air-conditioning system, spread throughout the building.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” Gross said. “People come from all over the area to the mosque and anyone who drives along I-75 knows it. We have even gotten calls from other places, like the mosque in Sylvania, where there is concern among the people. We’re doing everything we can to catch the one responsible for this.”
Officials at the Toledo Islamic Academy (the Masjid Saad Foundation) in Sylvania, said they have taken extra safety precautions since the fire.
“We have 200 children here. We are very concerned,” said Imam Sheikh Ibrahim Djemaa.
Alo said Arab-Americans are entrenched in the Toledo area.
“There have been Arab-Americans here for more than 100 years,” he said. “There are between 5,000 and 10,000 Arab-Americans in Toledo. This is a big community.”
Alo said he hopes the Northwest Ohio community will react to the fire in the same way it did in 2001.
“We all came together — Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, everyone — and we formed a protecting ring of hands around the building,” he said. “We called it the circle of love. That’s what we need to do again. And we need to remind people that even though we have different-sounding names, we’re as American as apple pie.”
Michael Sangiacomo
The Plain Dealer