July 7, 2009

Imam Ali Mohammed

Following news of the tragic death of a Southern California imam in a suspicious house fire on June 27, MPAC called on FBI officials to investigate the incident as a possible hate crime. Imam Ali Mohammed founded the High Desert Islamic Society in Victorville eight years ago, built mosques in Barstow and Yermo, and was a well-respected leader of the area's Muslim community.

SEE: Man Killed in Fire Helped Shape Local Muslim Community (Desert Dispatch)
SEE: FBI Investigating Death of Muslim Leader in High Desert (San Bernardino Sun)
SEE: Imam Killed in Yermo House Explosion (KABC)

According to Mohammed's eldest son, Jordon, Mohammed had been receiving an increasing amount of racist threats, which caused his father to move the family from Yermo to Victorville. The family had vacated their Yermo home for several days when his father returned two days before the fire, only to discover that vandals had broken into the almost empty house and spray-painted racial epithets and Nazi symbols on the walls, which Mohammed photographed.

The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department has also sent an arson and bomb unit to investigate the incident. Officials still haven't determined the cause of the fire, nor do they have any suspects. In addition to destroying his home and taking his life, the fire also destroyed several other small buildings on Imam Mohammed's property.
 
The Victorville cemetery has also been a target of several vandalism and arson attacks in recent years. In fact, the Victorville mosque on the same property was the target of an arson attack in 2005. Following an investigation, the police determined that the attack was not a hate crime. MPAC continues to engage the FBI on civil rights and other cases.
 
SEE: MPAC Calls on FBI to Investigate Mosque Arson Attack in Victorville, CA
SEE: Investigating Arson Attack (CBS2)