Muslim community leaders in Minneapolis are urging authorities to investigate whether a recent break-in at a south Minneapolis mosque is connected to a fire that happened there just a week earlier. The call comes after security footage showed a woman acting suspiciously near the same area where the fire started.
According to leaders at Alhikmah Islamic Center, security cameras captured a woman arriving at the mosque around 8 a.m. on Tuesday. She was seen walking toward the basement entrance—the same spot where a fire broke out the previous week—before smashing the glass on a side door. Imam Abdirizak Kaynan said a worshipper confronted the woman as she entered through the broken door. The woman allegedly made repeated threats, saying she intended to set the mosque on fire.
When the worshippers called 911, they were reportedly told to contact 311 instead. “I told them, ‘This is a serious situation—someone is trying to burn our mosque, and you’re telling us to call 311?’ That’s not logical,” Kaynan recalled.
The situation quickly escalated when the woman refused to leave. One of the worshippers forced her out of the building, and another called 911 again. Police arrived shortly after and arrested the woman a few blocks away. She was later identified as being in her 30s and booked into Hennepin County Jail for property damage and an outstanding warrant.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said the incident could have been much worse. “Unfortunately, our fears from last week became a reality,” he said. “If that worshipper hadn’t been inside, we might have lost the entire building.”
Authorities say they are investigating whether the same woman was involved in the earlier fire. Security footage from September 29 appears to show a woman matching her description leaving the mosque shortly before flames broke out at the basement entrance. No one was injured, and the mosque’s brick walls helped contain the fire. The building also houses a daycare for about 50 children.
While the Minneapolis Fire Department initially said the fire might have been caused accidentally by homeless people seeking shelter, mosque leaders disagree. “We believe this individual is the same one who came back to finish the job,” said Imam Kaynan. “This is a hate crime. This is Islamophobia. Someone tried to burn our Islamic center on purpose.”
Hussein echoed those concerns, noting that this is not the first time the mosque has been targeted. Last year, a hit-and-run incident occurred in its parking lot. He said the pattern of events shows that the community is being deliberately targeted because of their faith.
Hussein criticized the police response, saying it lacked urgency. He called on law enforcement to treat the incident as a hate crime and to take threats against Muslims more seriously. “As a community, we’ll only feel safe when we see that law enforcement is engaging with us honestly and investigating these matters with real commitment,” he said.
Community members are now waiting for answers, hoping for justice and better protection. For them, the issue goes beyond one incident—it’s about feeling secure in a place of worship and being assured that their safety matters as much as anyone else’s.
