More than $84,000 raised after Minnesota mosque bombing

The director of the Minnesota mosque that was bombed earlier this week has thanked the community for an outpouring of support the centre received following the attack.

The Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington was bombed early on Saturday while worshippers gathered inside for morning prayers.

No was was injured, but the imam’s office where someone threw an improvised explosive device was damaged, according to police.

Mohamed Omar, the mosque’s director, said his community was grateful for those who have sent money and messages and visited the centre after the attack.

While the bombing was “horrific and tragic”, Omar told the Associated Press, “on the other hand, good people came out, and they outnumber that one bad guy, and we are so pleased and so happy to see this community coming together in our support”.

A GoFundMe page had raised more than $67,900, while another crowdfunding page on the site LaunchGood had raised more than $16,600.

Many online said they stood with the members of the community and called for justice.

Visitors also continued to drop off flowers and donations to the site on Monday, according to Omar.

Following the attack, many also voiced frustration over President Donald Trump’s silence regarding the bombing, highlighting what they called a double standard.

‘Act of terrorism’

Minnesota state Governor Mark Dayton called the bombing a “criminal act of terrorism” while visiting the site on Sunday.

The Minneapolis FBI is currently investigating the incident and determining whether it was a hate crime.

The agency has not announced any arrests or said whether it is has identified any suspects.

In a statement on Monday, Rick Thornton, the special agent in charge, said the investigation was the agency’s “top priority”, with his office adding on Twitter that “all hands [are] on deck”.

Omar, the centre’s director, also said that mosque did not have security cameras that could have captured the attack.

He said the community, which is mostly made up of Somali immigrants, cannot afford the cameras.

The latest attack comes amid rising Islamophobic sentiment.

According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, there were 2,213 anti-Islam bias incidents in 2016, a 57 percent increase from 2015.

The number of anti-Muslim hate groups in the US has nearly tripledsince Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies