Another mosque torched...this time in Texas

[umsami]

Really hoping that it's not arson.  Highly highly doubt that, though.

 

http://abc13.com/news/fire-destroys-victoria-mosque/1725497/

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

I hope it isn't arson either. I will say, as a Texan, parts of Victoria are notoriously racist. It is part of the local culture in many sections of the town and definitely prevalent in some of the schools.

 

Not to say Victoria is a horrible place, by the way. There are lots of good people there. I just know historically there has also been a pretty deeply ingrained racist attitude among parts of the local population.

 

Hoping this was an accident or something along those lines and the community rallies to help rebuild.

Edited January 28, 2017 by OneStepAtATime

[Amira]

If it is arson, doing it today is even more brutal. What are we coming to?

[Lanny]

It says in this article, that in less than 12 hours, on GoFundMe, they raised more than USD $100K, towards rebuilding the mosque. 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/01/28/texas-mosque-destroyed-in-early-morning-blaze-cause-unknown.html

[umsami]

It says in this article, that in less than 12 hours, on GoFundMe, they raised more than USD $100K, towards rebuilding the mosque. 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/01/28/texas-mosque-destroyed-in-early-morning-blaze-cause-unknown.html

 

That's wonderful.  I'm wondering if they had any insurance on the building as many Muslims will not buy insurance unless forced (car insurance, for example).  I would hope they did, but there's a good chance they did not.  

[MercyA]

The world has gone mad. 

[happi duck]

:(

[Veritaserum]

This didn't happen in a vacuum. My heart breaks for our country and for targets of this hatred. :grouphug:

[StephanieZ]

So horrifying. 

[momacacia]

That's wonderful. I'm wondering if they had any insurance on the building as many Muslims will not buy insurance unless forced (car insurance, for example). I would hope they did, but there's a good chance they did not.

I didn't know that. Is it considered a form of borrowing or lack of faith?

[Janeway]

People who do this are not people who would have otherwise never done anything wrong, and then decide to attack based on election results. Evil people are evil. The person who did this would have done something elsewhere. The attention is focused on this particular burning because of all the attention on the Muslim issue right now. But it happens to churches, schools, people's homes, anything. Here is a website from just one county/city.http://www.dallasfirerescue.com/inspections_investigations_arson.html  An arsonist is going to commit arson regardless. They are abusers. And abusers do not abuse because their victims did something wrong but the abuser otherwise never would have hurt someone. Nope. An abuser abuses because they are an abuser. 

[Amira]

People who do this are not people who would have otherwise never done anything wrong, and then decide to attack based on election results. Evil people are evil. The person who did this would have done something elsewhere. The attention is focused on this particular burning because of all the attention on the Muslim issue right now. But it happens to churches, schools, people's homes, anything. Here is a website from just one county/city.http://www.dallasfirerescue.com/inspections_investigations_arson.html An arsonist is going to commit arson regardless. They are abusers. And abusers do not abuse because their victims did something wrong but the abuser otherwise never would have hurt someone. Nope. An abuser abuses because they are an abuser.

Whether you agree or not, hate crimes exist. But either way, why in the world do you need to dismiss possible arson of a mosque by saying all types of buildings get burned down? This has nothing to do with any other arson cases.

[bolt.]

It must be a little bit of an uncomfortable irony for various Americans to catch themselves hoping that their whole population won't be judged by the actions of 'a violent few who don't represent the rest of us' against Muslims.

 

(Because Muslims have been trying -- somewhat unsuccessfully -- to dissociate themselves as a whole from their own 'violent few' in American eyes; so that feels like irony to me.)

[Janeway]

Whether you agree or not, hate crimes exist. But either way, why in the world do you need to dismiss possible arson of a mosque by saying all types of buildings get burned down? This has nothing to do with any other arson cases.

I actually do agree hate crimes exist. That was the point of my post. BUT, what I was saying is people who commit hate crimes will still do it, even if it is not directed at one population. If the mosque were not there, the hater would have attacked someone else. 

[Janeway]

Whether you agree or not, hate crimes exist. But either way, why in the world do you need to dismiss possible arson of a mosque by saying all types of buildings get burned down? This has nothing to do with any other arson cases.

I will give another example. You know how when an abuser abuses, he/she will blame the victim. And sometimes, the victim will really believe if only he/she set the temperature right in the house, or made the right dinner, or had the coffee ready 5 minutes earlier, etc. And the abuser can sit back and blame the incompetence of the victim and paint himself or herself as the real victim? 

 

Well, the arsonist/hater is the same way. And since it happened on a Saturday night, I am going to bank on this being a young punk nasty hater, probably no older than 22-25 years old, but I am guessing closer to 17-19 yrs old.  And I am sure the hater will blame the Muslims because how how bad bad bad they are. But, in the case where the Muslims were not there, then they would have targeted another population.

 

Hate crimes have always been around as have arsonists. I am all for swift and heavy punishment for the people who do this, did it in the past, and will do it again. This country is much too easy on crime.

[Amira]

I actually do agree hate crimes exist. That was the point of my post. BUT, what I was saying is people who commit hate crimes will still do it, even if it is not directed at one population. If the mosque were not there, the hater would have attacked someone else.

Actually, the motivation of a hate crime matters. The same person could burn down a church and a mosque and one could be a hate crime and the other not. If this was arson, you have no way to know what the motivation was right now, and you have no way to know what else the perpetrator might or might not have burned down. You are assuming quite a bit, both in this post and the next.

 

I'm sorry I contributed to a derailment of a thread. I'll return the focus to the mosque that was burned down. I hope the community steps up to support the Muslim community, no matter why their mosque is gone.

[Lanny]

Fire Investigators from the State of Texas and the U.S. Government (ATF?) will investigate and (hopefully) determine the cause of the fire. At this time, they do not know if it was caused by Arson or by something else. If it was caused by Arson, that is horrible. If it was caused by something else, like the horrible fire in Oakland CA, that was caused by a faulty Refrigerator (?), that would be better.  The cause of the fire, at this time, is unknown.  

[Joules]

It must be a little bit of an uncomfortable irony for various Americans to catch themselves hoping that their whole population won't be judged by the actions of 'a violent few who don't represent the rest of us' against Muslims.

 

(Because Muslims have been trying -- somewhat unsuccessfully -- to dissociate themselves as a whole from their own 'violent few' in American eyes; so that feels like irony to me.)

 

A like just isn't enough for this, so I had to quote it.

 

I really do keep hoping for an epiphany from some people.

[regentrude]

People who do this are not people who would have otherwise never done anything wrong, and then decide to attack based on election results. Evil people are evil. The person who did this would have done something elsewhere. The attention is focused on this particular burning because of all the attention on the Muslim issue right now.

 

I disagree. Some people who would never think of burning a church feel a deep seated hatred against Islam. I had a person tell me to my face that the commandment "Though shalt not kill" does not apply to Muslims because they are the infidel. Muslims are targeted specifically, not as a random target by somebody who is generally abusive. (Whether this is the case for this particular mosque, I don't know - but I do know that hate crimes happen against specific groups. Probability is high that this was one of them. I do not believe in coincidences.)

 

Also, some people who would never have dared to commit a violent act feel emboldened by what they perceive societal sanctioning of their actions. It has happened before in history and is very common for humans.

Edited January 29, 2017 by regentrude

[regentrude]

 This country is much too easy on crime.

 

What a very odd statement about a country that incarcerates a far higher percentage of its population than any other country in the world.

[lanalouwho]

This is in my neck of the woods so I thought I'd post an update. There was a beautiful public prayer service held today. It was such an overwhelming show of support, absolutely wonderful.

 

www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2017/jan/28/mosque-engulfed-in-fire-cause-undetermined/

 

Sent from my HTCD160LVW using Tapatalk

[Lanny]

I sincerely hope that it was not Arson. However, if it was Arson, I hope they will be able to send the person(s) responsible to prison, for a long time.  I try not to assume things, because usually when I assume, I assume incorrectly.  The Arson Investigators will (hopefully) be able to determine how the fire began.