A Northeast Philadelphia mosque was damaged in an arson attack early Sunday morning, authorities said, rattling the city’s Islamic community.
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The attack took place around 2 a.m. at the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center in the city’s Castor Gardens neighborhood, according to police.
Fire crews responded to the mosque, located on the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue, and extinguished a blaze in the building’s enclosed front porch that morning.
The mosque was unoccupied and no one was injured, police said.
Fire marshals soon determined that the fire had been set intentionally. They are investigating the incident alongside the police department, which had not identified a suspect in the case as of Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, local Islamic leaders are hoping members of the public will come forward with information about the attack, as they urge law enforcement to investigate whether the perpetrator was motivated by religious bias or hate.
“Our mosque is more than a place of worship,” said Masukul Islam Khan, the mosque’s president. “It is a welcoming community center that has served families, neighbors, and people of all backgrounds for many years.”
“Any act of violence or hatred directed at a house of worship is an attack on the values of safety, religious freedom, and unity that our city cherishes,” he added.
The local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved with the attack.
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CAIR on Monday released a video taken in the aftermath of the blaze that shows the mosque’s porch damaged, covered in ash and soot.
The group also released surveillance footage that shows a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt approaching the mosque, located outside the frame, before quickly walking away.
“An attack on any house of worship is an attack on the constitutional promise of religious freedom that belongs to every American,” said Ahmet Tekelioglu, executive director of CAIR. “It’s additionally saddening that this attack came just as the nation commemorated the 250th year of its founding.”
The Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center was established in 2004 and has grown from a small place of worship to a bustling community where hundreds attend weekly prayers gatherings.
The arson comes as the mosque’s leadership seeks to construct a new, $2.8 million facility on a neighboring lot to accommodate an increase in membership.
In 2025, CAIR’s national office released a report documenting more than 8,600 anti-Muslim bias complaints from that year, the highest amount since the organization began tracking such information in 1996.
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