After US President Donald Trump's imposing a ban on Muslims, a mosque in Texas was "completely destroyed" in a fire on Saturday (January 28). A burglary was reported at the same mosque, Islamic Center of Victoria, a week ago as well.
Also read: Chaos, protests, lawsuit as Trump orders halt on some Muslim immigrants
The fire was first spotted by a convenience-store employee who then called up the fire department around 2 am.
"It's sad to stand there and watch it collapse down, and the fire was so huge," Shahid Hashmi, the centre's president, said. "It looks completely destroyed."
The fire marshal of Victoria Tom Legler has sought help from Texas Fire Marshal's Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the incident. Authorities in Texas have urged the public to not to draw conclusions hastily.
"We don't have any lead or information as to what started the fire and what happened. So I'm sure it's going to be a few days, they told us, before they can come up with any answers for us," Hasmi said.
He also added that no alarms were active and the doors were unlocked in the early morning hours when the Imam of the mosque checked things.
"Because of growing anti-Muslim bigotry in our nation, and because of the recent spike in hate incidents targeting Islamic institutions and individuals, we urge investigators to keep the possibility of a bias motive for this fire in mind," Council on American-Islamic Relations-Houston Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll said.
This is the second time that a mosque faced arson in the US in January.
Meanwhile, protestors at the prime airports of the country gathered to protest against Trump's Muslim ban. The Supreme Court has said that those with valid visas will not be stopped from entering the country.
Firms in the Silicon Valley have also expressed disappointment in Trump who has given some controversial executive orders within a week of assuming office.
