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 No one was injured in the early Friday blaze at the Quba Islamic
Institute, fire officials said.
The fire destroyed one of three buildings at the center, which
remains fully operational.
Arson investigators with the Houston Fire Department were working to
pinpoint the cause of the blaze, but no official determination has
been made, fire officials said.
In a video on the institute's Facebook page, Ahsan Zahid, son of the
imam, said fire officials told him the fire appeared to be arson.
He also urged the Islamic community and supporters not to assign
blame until the investigation concluded.
Zahid told Reuters a series of odd events preceded the blaze.
On Thursday, members were shaken when a man drove by yelling at
them.
 “We were leaving the premises, and a person driving a pickup truck
was chanting in Arabic phrases, like terrorist do before they
explode suicide bombs," he said.
The chants mockingly repeated the name of Allah, he said.
Earlier in the week, a man with his face covered had to be chased
from the property, he said.
A fire official said it could be several days before the
investigation into the cause of the blaze would be concluded.
The Texas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called
for authorities to investigate a possible bias motive if the blaze
is determined to be the result of arson.
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Zahid said the fire caused more than $100,000 in damages.
The Houston fire comes days after a gunman shot dead three young
Muslims near the University of North Carolina, riling Muslim
activists who have demanded that U.S. state and federal authorities
investigate the detained suspect for possible hate crimes.
Javid Sultan, the president at the University of Houston’s Muslim
Student Association said students on campus were stunned to hear
about the fire at the Islamic center.
"We're trying to be more proactive because you never know when
something like this happens," he said. "It's getting pretty scary,
and very close to home, being harassed based on our faith."
(Editing by Victoria Cavaliere & Kim Coghill)
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