One arrested after mosque fire in Sweden

Mosque, Photo: Pixabay.comMosque, Photo: Pixabay.com

Charged with first-degree arson

NTB Scanpix / Norway Today

One person has been arrested and charged in connection with the fire in the main Shiite mosque in Sweden on Saturday night.

The Stockholm Police suspect that the fire at the mosque was deliberate and investigate it as a possible first-degree arson.

– A person who was previously brought in for questioning, has been arrested and indicted, Press Spokesman, Lars Byström, told the newspaper Dagens Nyheter on Monday afternoon.

The notice about the fire in Imam Ali Islamic Centre in Järfälla outside the Swedish capital came around 11 p.m. on Sunday.

– It is apparently started on the outside, Byström enlightens.

No one was injured in the fire, but the building is completely destroyed.

– I feel very uneasy, and it is a very difficult situation that can not be described in words. It’s not just my workplace, it is like my second home, the spokesman for the mosque Akil Zahiri, said.

Threats

The congregation does not want to comment on whether it has received threats, as it believes it may harm the investigation.

According to Aftonbladet, surveillance cameras have filmed a person who was sneaking around the building, but the police will not say anything about whether the information is correct.

The Swedish security police Säpo are routinely contacted. The area is cordoned off, and police undertook technical investigations Monday.

Party

Imam Ali is the biggest Shia mosque in Sweden, with several thousand members and a library with more than 3,000 books. The fire supposedly started simultaneously as the end of a party on the premises.

There were security guards who first discovered the fire, and those who were inside, were notified. The large building is 60 meters wide and 100 meters long, with an indoor area of 3,500 square meters.

When the fire brigade arrived at the place, the flames emitted through the roof, and they started with extinguishing work from outside. Not before one a.m. could they begin extinguishing work indoors as well, with 30-35 fire fighters involved.