New York: Molotov cocktails thrown at Islamic centre ‘being investigated as possible hate crime’ 

by Bob Pitt, Islamophobia Watch

Police are investigating a rash of Molotov cocktail attacks in Queens late Sunday, including one on an Islamic mosque and another that set off a major house fire. Police are handling the four bottle-bombings as possible hate crimes, officials said.

The homemade explosives were hurled at a bodega, the Imam Al-Khoei Islamic Center in Jamaica and two homes between 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., cops said. All of the targets were in Jamaica, within two miles of each other, police said. “They definitely appear to be quite similar,” a police source said, “We’re looking into them as bias crimes.”

Up to 80 people were at the Islamic center at 89-89 Van Wyck Expressway about 9 p.m. when someone threw two or three Molotov cocktails at the building’s brick facade, witnesses said. “We had a few members downstairs and they heard it. We came out and put out the fire and called 911,” said Maan Lasahlan, the center’s minister of religion.

Ali Rizdi, who attends the mosque, said he ran outside and began stomping out the fire. He said one of the gas bombs was fashioned from a glass Starbucks Frappuccino bottle. “We are shocked,” Rizdi said. “We live in the U.S. This is our country.”

New York Daily News, 2 January 2012

Meanwhile, the Bare Naked Islam blog, which had reportedly been taken down by WordPress after inciting violence against Muslims, is back online – applauding attacks on mosques in the Netherlands.

Source:  Islamophobia Watch

Updates by TAM Editor

A little more is now known.  In addition to the mosque, one of the targets was a bodega, one of the homes hit was that of a Hindu family who sometimes held Hindu religious services in their home, one was an African-American family.  Police are investigating whether some or all of these were bias crimes.

Police said they were looking for a man, 25 to 30 years old, about 5-foot-8 and weighing about 200 pounds. They said he fled the scene in a light-colored, four-door sedan with a sunroof. They were offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.  *** 

The New York Post has published security camera video of the man throwing a molotov cocktail at one of the homes, and a sketch of the perpetrator ***

1/4 Ray Lazier Lengend, a 40-year-old of Guyanese descent has been arrested on five counts of criminal possession of a weapon, five counts of arson one considered a hate crime for these firebombings.  He has been taken to a hospital for a psychiatric examination.  *** 

According to various reports, Lengend may or may not have committed any of these acts as a hate crime, but the details and motives are still being investigated.  The NY Daily News reports that he faces hate-crime charges for one arson attack on the mosque because of “broad anti-Muslim statements” he made during his confession. ***

SEE ALSO:

Fire attack against Islamic center, 3 other sites http://online.wsj.com/article/AP4c0d36f18d6e4f8fbe1ae951d5911315.html

Four firebombs, including one tossed at Queens mosque, eyed as hate crimes http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/fire-bombs-including-tossed-qeens-mosque-eyed-hate-crimes-article-1.999648?localLinksEnabled=false

Mosque attack stuns U.S. Muslims http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/islamophobia-watch/2012/1/2/new-york-molotov-cocktails-thrown-at-islamic-centre-being-in.html

STOP THE HATE! Four Firebombs Terrorize Queens Neighborhood with news video http://globalgrind.com/news/stop-hate-four-firebombs-terrorize-queens-new-york-neighborhood-details#ixzz1iJOSfTHy