On Sunday, May 12—Mother’s Day—a fire broke out at the Diyanet Mosque in New Haven, Connecticut. On Monday, Fire Chief John Alston held a press conference to say that preliminary investigations had led officials to believe that the fire was intentionally set.
Chief Alston: Yesterday as we conduct an investigation in conducting the investigation we've detected that there is intent in this fire this was intentionally set anytime there's an event like this or an incident in a house of worship anywhere in the United States it triggers a response of both the ATF the FBI and state local authorities. That has happened.
Alston went on to explain that fire personnel worked diligently to quell the fire and salvage and secure the mosque, as well as make sure all worshippers were safe. The fire began while dozens of the mosque’s worshippers were celebrating the most holy Islamic holiday of Ramadan. According to WFSB Channel 3 News, those worshippers huddled outside in the rain while firefighters worked to save the mosque.
Alston went on to explain that this investigation was now no longer a “fire emergency” but a “criminal investigation.” New Haven Police Chief Tony Reyes asked for help from the public, offering a $2,500 reward for any information leading to an arrest of the possible perpetrator of this terrible act, saying “If you do know any information, however minimal you think it might be, please come forward with that information, it could absolutely be valuable to the investigation.” According to the news, the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is offering an additional $10,000 for information.
The holy month of Ramadan is practiced in the United States between May 5 and June 4 this year. It is a month of fasting and feasts and prayers for atonement. Attacks on Islamic and Jewish places of worship seem to have followed the “rhetoric” of some conservative officials in the United States and Europe, feeding Islamophobia and domestic terrorists’ actions. What the intentions of the individual or individuals involved in the Diyanet mosque were, it is hard not to suspect this was an act of terrorism. You can watch New Haven Fire Chief John Alston’s press conference below.