Five fire engines tackled the blaze at about 23:43 BST on Sunday at the Nasfat Manchester Islamic Centre, in Droylsden Road, Manchester. Mosque spokesman Shamusideen Oladimeji said he believed it was arson. The building was the target of an arson attack three years ago. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) could not confirm if the fire was being treated as a hate crime.
Local Labour councillor John Flanagan said: “This has been a dreadful attack on a place of faith.” “This is not just an attack on the Muslim faith but on all of us,” he added. “It is early days but if this was an attack the mosque it is a hate crime.” Mr Flanagan said a local community centre had offered space for Friday prayers and he added that he had been inundated with offers of help. A GMP spokeswoman said it was carrying out a joint investigation with Greater Manchester Fire Service. Mr Oladimedji said: “It has been seriously damaged – the police won’t let us in. We don’t know why this happened. We try to be good neighbours and we try to be involved with our local community.”
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-40629812
