Times staff and wire services

BLOOMINGTON — Officials say a bomb was thrown through the window of a suburban Minneapolis mosque on Saturday as people were preparing for morning prayers, damaging the imam's office but not injuring anyone.

The Bloomington Police Department tweeted that a preliminary investigation shows that a destructive device caused the explosion, "in violation of federal law." The FBI has taken the lead in the investigation and is looking for suspects.

Richard Thornton, special agent in charge of the FBI's Minneapolis division, said investigators have recovered components of the device to figure how it was put together.

Witnesses reported seeing something thrown at the imam's office window from a vehicle just before the blast Saturday morning at the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington. The explosion happened at around 5 a.m.

Police say there were no injuries, but the explosion damaged a room in the mosque.

There were 15 to 20 people inside the mosque when the blast happened, and worshippers managed to extinguish the blaze before firefighters arrived, the Muslim American Society of Minnesota said in a news release.

The society's director, Asad Zaman, said at a news conference that a witness saw something being thrown at the imam's office window from a "van or truck" before the blast. He also said it may have been a fire bomb.

Mohamed Omar, the center's executive director, said a worshipper saw a pickup truck speeding away afterward. The mosque, which primarily serves people from the area's large Somali community, occasionally receives threatening calls and emails, Omar said.

Two Muslim organizations are offering rewards for information leading to an arrest and conviction for the perpetrator. The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, and the Muslim American Society of Minnesota are each offering a $10,000 reward.

"If a bias motive is proven, this attack would represent another in a long list of hate incidents targeting Islamic institutions nationwide in recent months," said Amir Malik, civil rights director for CAIR-MN.

Gov. Mark Dayton issued a statement Saturday afternoon, saying his prayers are with the children, families and faith leaders that attend the mosque.

“Every place of worship, for all Minnesotans of every faith and culture, must be sacred and safe."

He thanked the first responders and investigators for their work.



“I will remain in close contact with Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner Mona Dohman throughout the weekend and until this investigation is complete.”

Since the beginning of the year, CAIR has called for investigations of possible bias motives for dozens of other incidents targeting mosques in more than 13 states. By comparison, in the January-March period in 2016, CAIR recorded 19 such incidents.

CAIR's national office is also urging mosques and Islamic centers nationwide to step up security measures. Dar Al-farooq Islamic Center serves as a religious center and a community organizing platform. It hosts hundreds of Muslims for prayers every Friday.

In a Facebook post, the Muslim American Society of Minnesota says it "condemns the attack on Darul Farooq Center this morning. We urge the community to be calm and remain safe."

Asad Zaman, director of the Muslim-American Association of Minnesota, said a witness saw someone standing by the imam’s office window before the blast and also saw a truck flee the scene. He says the imam’s window was broken and a small fire bomb was thrown inside.

Various witnesses described the incident to reporters.

"It was 5 a.m.," Omar said. "The whole neighborhood was calm. People were supposed to be sleeping, that's how peaceful this should be. I was shocked to learn this happened."

Trevin Miller, who lives across the street, said the explosion woke him up, and that he felt it on his "insides."

Yasir Abdalrahman, a worshipper at the mosque, said the explosion was "unimaginable."

"We came to this country for the same reason everyone else came here: freedom to worship," Abdalrahman said. "And that freedom is under threat. Every other American should be insulted by this."

State Rep. Ilhan Omar released a statement condemning the attack on Saturday afternoon, saying it reminded her of the shooting massacre at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, where six people died and four were wounded in 2012.

"This building is more than a religious symbol, it’s a place where Minnesotans are gathering to create community, to talk to their neighbors, to learn about our world and each other, and to help care for children."

She called for unity for all to worship freely.

"I feel the need to remind my community that attacks on places of worship — no matter who commits them, no matter what religion is targeted, no matter the city or state or immigrant community — these attacks are attacks on our founding principles as Americans."

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