Arson suspected in fire at Texas Islamic center

A fire ripped through an Islamic community center in the U.S. city of Houston on Friday, with preliminary investigation showing it might be set intentionally.

Officials said the fire at the Quba Islamic Institute in southeast Houston started during the pre-dawn hours, according to local KTRK TV. The building was badly damaged but no injuries were reported as it was vacant.

Ahsan Zahid, assistant Imam at the institute, said investigators told him an accelerant, like gasoline, was present at the site of the fire.

The institute released a statement on its Facebook page later in the day, saying that they believe it was not merely an accident.

"Preliminary investigation has concluded that the fire was started by a person. Who it was is unknown at this time. But the investigators have made clear that the fire was not accidental," the institute stated.

Houston Fire Department arson investigators were on the scene investigating, but officials haven't released any comments on the possible cause of the blaze.

Friday is the day when Muslims hold congregational prayers. Zahid said that the ritual prayers by the local Islamic community went ahead as planned at a nearby venue in the aftermath of the fire.

The Texas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization, is calling on state and federal authorities to investigate the fire as a possible hate crime. The FBI has already been involved in the probe.

The Houston fire came in the wake of the killing of three young Muslims earlier this week by a man in North Carolina, over what police said was a "parking dispute." Muslim activists, however, demanded authorities investigate a possible motive of religious hatred.

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