Suspect arrested, charged in fire at Islamic institute

Rucks Russell | KHOU-TV, Houston

Show Caption Hide Caption Suspect in Islamic center fire says it was an accident A suspect has been arrested and charged with arson in connection with a fire at the Quba Islamic Institute in Houston, Texas. The homeless man allegedly admitted it to police, but told reporters it was an accident.

HOUSTON — A man has been arrested and charged with arson in connection with a fire at the Quba Islamic Institute last week.

Darryl Ferguson, 55, was arrested around 4 p.m. Monday and charged with felony first degree arson. Ferguson also allegedly admitted to setting the fire.

Ferguson reportedly acted alone and lives in the area. Authorities would not release a possible motive.

The fire, which broke out early Friday morning, destroyed a building that was going to be turned into a family center.

Firefighters battled heavy smoke and flames for about an hour. There were no reports of injuries.

Those who attend the church and school said the building, which was a total loss, had been recently purchased.

According to its website, Quba serves as a school for youth and helps train community leaders.

The imam at the institute said he was caught off guard by the fire, but he said the real shock came from what he read online afterward.

"Somebody said, 'Burn, baby, burn,'" said Zahid Abdullah. "That was the first comment we saw."

The comments were posted to the institute's Facebook page after it informed its followers of the fire. One comment read, "Forgive me if I don't shed a tear."

Member Salman Zahad saw the remarks as they came in. "When I saw all these negative comments, I was like man, this is depressing," he said.

Zahad took to the Internet to respond to the vitriol. One of his postings read, "You are correct, no need to shed tears for material loss. No people were harmed. Thanks for your perspective."

Other hateful messages were greeted by statements of tolerance and respect. Despite the negativity, the overwhelming response online has been positive and supportive.

"Those comments make you depressed, but it makes you so happy that there's all these people supporting you rather than against you," said Zahad.

The iman agreed. "You are Christian, and I'm Muslim," said Abdullah. "The majority of the things are between us are common. So why can't we live together?"