Springfield Muslims fear arson hit mosque

SPRINGFIELD -- Federal agents yesterday joined the investigation into a fire that tore through a Springfield mosque Wednesday, severely damaging the building and raising concern among authorities and some local Muslims that someone set the blaze.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives yesterday joined the probe of the fire at the Al-Baqi Islamic Center, as is customary when a place of worship may have been the target of a crime. The fire, reported at 5 p.m. Wednesday, probably means the building will be demolished, authorities said.

Mosque member Gha-Is Shakr, 58, of Springfield, said the fire followed at least two recent incidents involving his mosque and another mosque nearby. He said there was a break-in at Al-Baqi several weeks ago in which items were stolen. About a week later, someone broke a window at nearby Muhammad Mosque No. 13.

''It seems to be following a pattern," said Shakr, a member of Al-Baqi since 1975. ''I think it's in the atmosphere right now. It's disheartening. Something seems to be brewing here."

The resident imam of the center, Rasul Seifullah, said investigators told him that the fire, which firefighters said spread to the roof in 15 minutes, appeared to be suspicious. Authorities believe the blaze started in a multipurpose room on the second floor that housed a large-screen TV and where members gathered for movie nights, dinners, and meetings.

Seifullah said the building had not been used since Sunday night, and was locked. But fire officials said at a press conference yesterday that they found evidence of a break-in. They declined to elaborate.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national, Washington-based Muslim organization, called for federal help in the probe, which also involves local officials, the state Fire Marshal's Office, and State Police. Springfield officials welcomed the federal cooperation, fearing a repeat of the hate-motivated attacks targeting Muslims since Sept. 11, 2001.

''We've got a war going on. And if we don't take our time and do everything right on this, it will come back and bite us later," said Springfield fire Lieutenant Neil A. Hawley.

James McNally, spokesman for the ATF in Boston, said yesterday that the cause of the fire was still unknown. ''They are not pointing in any direction at all," he said. ''It's going to take a little time."

Springfield's Muslim community, with an estimated 500 families, was founded in the mid-1950s by Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad. Al-Baqi was originally rooted in the Nation of Islam. But for nearly four decades, its worshipers have followed the movement led by Elijah's son, Warith Deen Muhammad.

''My experience with them is that they are the most peaceful, humble people," said Dr. Saleem Bajwa, executive director of the Islamic Council of New England. He said members are predominantly from the local African-American community.

An arson determination could take several days; the slate roof on the two-story building collapsed, leaving the structure temporarily too unstable to bring in dogs that can detect the smell of accelerants. State Police arson investigators took aerial photographs of the site yesterday afternoon, and Springfield firefighters began asking neighbors and a community center for security camera video footage.

The center was housed in one of the oldest schools in Springfield, built around 1883. More than 20 families attended the center regularly for jumah prayer on Friday afternoon; taleem, or general education for the public, took place every Sunday morning. The building was appraised at about $250,000, said Mujahid Aleem, a spokesman for the mosque, and was insured.

The use for public assembly may have been illegal, because the building was still classified in city records as a school or business, said Steve Desilets, code enforcement commissioner. ''Permits should have been applied for to alter it from a school to a mosque," he said.

The mosque also underwent renovations through the years, Aleem said, but Desilets said the city had no building permit on file since 1958, when the school was converted to a printing business.

As investigators worked yesterday, some Muslim leaders and neighbors in the Old Hill section of Springfield said they thought it was unlikely that the Islamic center would be targeted for violence. The mosque's estimated 40 active members have been involved in educational outreach and interfaith efforts since Sept. 11, 2001.

''We're trying to reach out and explain to people that, truly, Muslims are not terrorists and violent," said Aleem. ''We're blessed to be in America and we're thankful for the opportunity to have freedom of religion. We were as stunned and as shocked by [Sept. 11] as Christians and Jews are."

The night before Thanksgiving, Al-Baqi hosted the local Council of Churches in an interfaith prayer service.

''This is a neighborhood that accepts all religions and lifestyles," said Cherylyn Satterwhite, executive director of the Dunbar Community Center, which is across the street from the mosque and includes some of the worshiping Muslims in its membership programs. ''If it was a hate crime, someone came into this community from outside of the community."

The neighborhood is home to people of many languages and cultures. But it is rife with abandoned buildings and has its share of crime.

Askia Muhammad, the Islamic chaplain at the MacDougall Correctional Facility in Suffield, Conn., came to Springfield yesterday to show solidarity with members of the mosque. He said he feared the fire was a hate crime, noting that several New England mosques have been vandalized in recent months, including one in New Haven in September.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations also asked for federal agents to investigate a fire at an Arizona mosque Tuesday.

''It is entirely possible that it could be a sheer coincidence that two mosques were burned in the same week, but we unfortunately see these incidents as a pattern of growing attacks against American Muslims," said Arsalan T. Iftikhar, national legal director for the group.

A July 27, 2003, arson fire at the Islamic Center of New England in Quincy remains unsolved. The fire, which may have started in a trash receptacle, caused an estimated $10,000 in damage. Yesterday, a spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating said the investigation into that fire was still open, but the motive remains unknown.

John Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at ebbert@globe.com