Explosive rocks Islamic center, but no one hurt
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — An explosion caused by what the FBI called a “destructive device” rocked a Bloomington Islamic center at dawn Saturday, just as a group of worshipers had gathered for prayers.
The blast was reported at the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center at 5:05 a.m., when as many as 20 people were gathered for morning prayers. No one was hurt, and damage was largely confined to the imam’s office.
After an initial response by Bloomington police, agents from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the investigation. A large area outside the center was cordoned off as investigators, including members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, combed the area.
“Preliminary investigation indicates that the explosion was caused by a destructive device in violation of federal law,” the FBI said in a statement.
Mohamed Omar, executive director of the center, said one worshiper saw a pickup truck speed out of the mosque’s parking lot just after the blast.
Bloomington Police Chief Jeff Potts said that when officers arrived, they found smoke and fire damage to the building.
Neighbors across the street reported waking up to a loud bang or pop, some even feeling the concussion reverberate through windows.
Omar said the center has received threatening phone calls and emails in the past. Usually, he said, it’s “people talking about us, telling us, accusing us that we shouldn’t be here, that we are like a burden to the community or we are like harming it.”
The center attracts Muslims from around the metropolitan Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and children often attend weekend
dugsi services to learn to memorize and recite the Quran, said Yasir Abdalrahman, who has been worshiping at the mosque for two years.
“We came to this country for the same reason everyone else came here: freedom to worship,” Abdalrahman said. “And that freedom is under threat. Every other American should be insulted by this.”