Islamic Center turnout up after fire bombing

As Ramadan comes to a close, the Islamic Center of Bloomington appears to have fully recovered from the firebombing this summer and attendance has even risen in the wake of the apparent hate crime.\n"We've definitely had an excellent turnout at the mosque and the (Muslim Student Union) events we've held during Ramadan," MSU vice president and senior Shahaab Uddin said. "From the MSU perspective, (the firebombing) inspired us to reach out and make people aware of what Islam is. It is a lack of understanding that lead to this action."\nAfter the firebombing, attendance numbers jumped and the incident also brought in several members who had not been attending regularly. On Fridays, the Muslim holy day, the center has about 300 community members attending prayer. About 250 of them are affiliated with IU.\n"I think that people were more willing to attend initially after the incident," said Islamic Center President Shahid Osman. "When a loved one gets injured, the entire family tends to grow closer to each other and such was the reaction of the Muslim community." \nIn the early morning hours of July 9, rocks were thrown through a lower-level window of the mosque on Atwater Avenue. The firebomb, which was thrown through the window, consisted of a Mountain Dew bottle full of a combustible liquid. No one was inside the mosque at the time. A witness noticed the blaze, and the fire was quickly extinguished, according to a previous Indiana Daily Student article.\n"Cleanup of the mosque itself was not that complicated, but rather the wait to do the cleanup was complicated," Osman said. "The daily reminder of coming to a house of God and seeing it damaged made it difficult for several members to move past it.\n"This was greatly eased through the massive outpouring of support for us and condemnation of the attack from the overall Bloomington community."\nThe damage caused by the firebomb was contained to the kitchen area. The center has replaced the window and blinds. The nearby wall required some paint, but the structure of the room itself was not compromised. The repairs, now completed, were covered in full by donations from community members, interfaith organizations and insurance coverage.\nNathan Ainslie, the president of the Islamic Center at the time of the firebombing, and the center's members received hundreds of condolence letters from individuals in the community and from almost every faith group in the city. Calls were received from Muslim IU alumni around the globe.\n"I didn't and still don't think of the attack as a wake-up call," said Ainslie, now the Islamic Center's secretary. "If anything, the larger community response afterward, condemning the attack and offering support, was the wake-up call as to the level of support and caring present for us in this community. I hope that we are taking better advantage of the ties that we have to the community and will continue to develop those relationships."\nThe FBI and Bloomington Police Department have made no arrests, nor have they named suspects thought to be responsible for the firebombing.\nAn investigation is ongoing, and there is no new information to report at this time, FBI Special Agent Wendy Osborne said last week. She noted the incident is still classified as a hate crime.\n"We understand that investigations like these can take a long time, and we remain patient and hopeful that the people who committed this crime will be brought to justice," Ainslie said.\nThe Islamic Center of Bloomington has not fallen victim to any other crimes since the incident. Increased police surveillance remains in force around the mosque, and the Islamic Center is currently raising funds to upgrade the security system.