A mosque in Texas was destroyed in an early morning fire Saturday, a week after being burglarized and hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning entry to the U.S. for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries.
"They said it ... is a restricted area for now for the investigation," Shahid Hashmi, president of the center, told the Victoria Advocate. “So, we just prayed right here on this" sidewalk.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, officials told the Advocate, and fire chief Taner Drake encouraged the public to not jump to any conclusions.
The mosque is the second one destroyed by a fire in Texas this year. On Jan. 7, a partially constructed mosque in Lake Travis was destroyed in an early morning fire with the cause still being investigated.
"This is a great loss to us," said Jazak Allah-o-Khair with the Islamic Center for Lake Travis. "We are requesting the community to restrain from drawing any conclusion before the investigation is completed."
Since the election, there has been an increase in hate crimes in the U.S., according to a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. From Nov. 9 to Dec. 12., there were 1,094-bias related incidents, with reports collected from social media, news articles and direct submissions.
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