Second arson suspected at mosque in Washington state

The Islamic Center of Eastside, in Bellevue, Washington, has not been used since January 2017 when a homeless man started a fire that closed the place of worship.

On Wednesday afternoon, a second fire further damaged the mosque that’s been surrounded by a security fence and not used since last year’s fire which caused smoke, water and fire damage.

 “There’s nobody inside, it’s fenced, it’s sealed, there’s no electricity, there’s no gas, so there’s no possibility at all that it would happen by itself,” Omer Lone, a spokesman for the Islamic Center, told KOMO-TV in Seattle.

While investigators still have not publicly said how the fire started, Lone blamed an arsonist for the blaze on Wednesday afternoon.

“Inside I have a lot of nervousness right now because it happened twice,” Muneer Mohammed, a board member of the Islamic Center of Eastside, told the Seattle television station. The mosque serves about 100 families.

Mosque members, who have been using temporary, leased quarters nearby, had been seeking permits to tear down the fire-damaged building and construct a new center, estimated to cost $1.5 to $2 million, the Seattle Times reported.

They hope to have the rebuilt mosque open in time for Ramadan in May 2019, the newspaper reported.

“The idea was always to build a new building,” Lone told reporters. “The question in the minds of the people is, ‘If we build, is this (a fire) something we will see again?’”

Isaac Wayne Wilson, 37, was arrested for starting the January 2017 fire that damaged the mosque. Since then, the building, which was insured, has not been used as mosque members finalize rebuilding plans.

Wilson, who has a history of mental illness, was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Photo Credit: Bellevue, Wash., Fire Department via AP Images