Police: Canada mosque deliberately set on fire

No one hurt in blaze; motive as yet unclear as police search for signs arson may have been revenge for Paris terror

By Agencies 16 November 2015, 9:30 am

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Kawartha Muslim Religious Association president Kenzu Abdella surveys the fire damage to his Peterborough, Ontario, mosque after what authorities say was a deliberate arson attack that may have targeted the Muslim community in revenge for the Paris terror attacks, November 15, 2015. (screenshot: CBC News)

PETERBOROUGH, Ontario — Police say a mosque in Peterborough, Ontario, was deliberately set ablaze, but they are still looking into the motive and searching for suspects.

Police said Sunday it was unclear whether the fire was connected to the attacks in Paris that left 129 people dead.

The mosque was set ablaze at 11 p.m. Saturday, about a half hour after members of Kawartha Muslim Religious Association were in the building celebrating the birth of a baby, the association’s president Kenzu Abdella said.

No one was injured in the fire but the building has been rendered unusable, Abdella said.

The previous building that housed the community was vandalized once before shortly after the 9/11 terror attacks in New York and Washington, Abdella said.