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Crime, Law and Justice
Matt Sepic
Minneapolis

Vandals target Islamic center site 8 times in 6 weeks

boy in empty building appears in security image
In a security image captured on June 29, a boy can be seen inside a former Bremer Bank branch that's slated to become a youth-focused Islamic center.
Screenshot via video

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Twin Cities Muslim leaders are calling for a hate crime investigation after vandals targeted the site of a new Islamic center eight times since late May.

Security camera images released Wednesday by the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations show a group of boys breaking into the Tibyan Center in St. Anthony, which is set to open later this year in a former bank building.

CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said in a phone interview with MPR News that the suspects first broke in May 29 and sprayed fire extinguishers inside, then returned four times in June and three more times in July. The most recent break-in happened on Tuesday.

Hussein said that the building had been empty for about a year, but the vandalism started only after the city publicized plans for the property as part of the permitting process.

“All of the sudden in May, there’s a public notice that goes out into the community about the potential use for this facility,” Hussein said. “Then all the sudden here comes this string of attacks, and they haven’t decreased.”

Hussein added that St. Anthony police have been responsive but have not been able to identify the suspects.

Damage to the building, which was previously a Bremer Bank branch, is estimated to be more than $20,000. Hussein said that the property is slated to become the new headquarters of the Tibyan Center, now based in Minneapolis.

The organization, which focuses on Islamic education for youth, has sponsored two international Quran memorization competitions.