Doug Mataconis · · No comments

An Islamic Center that was sometimes attended by the 19 year-old arrested the other day for plotting to detonate a bomb in downtown Portland was the target of an arson attack over the weekend:

CORVALLIS, ORE. – Apparent anger over a Somali-born teen’s failed effort to blow up a van filled with explosives during Portland’s Christmas-tree lighting ceremony erupted in arson Sunday when a fire damaged an Islamic center frequented by the suspect, authorities said.

Police don’t know who started the blaze or exactly why, but they believe the Islamic center in Corvallis was targeted because terror suspect Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, occasionally worshipped there.

Yosof Wanly, the imam at the Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center, said he was advised by friends to take his family out of their home because of the potential threat of hate crime, and members decried the alleged arson attack. No one was injured, and the fire was contained to one room.

“We know how it is, we know some people due to ignorance are going to perceive of these things and hold most Muslims accountable,” Wanly said. “We do what we can, but it’s a tough situation.”