City, federal officials probe Detroit mosque fire

DETROIT – Federal and local authorities are trying to figure out what caused a fire at a Detroit mosque.

Detroit fire Capt. Kwaku Atara said Thursday that city investigators have joined agents from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at the Islamic Center of North Detroit.

Atara says dogs have been working the scene where the fire broke out April 1 and damaged the rear and roof of the building.

Dawud Walid of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations was there to speak with authorities. He says an insurance investigator called the FBI after ruling out any accidental explanation for the fire.

Walid says the fire was discovered an hour before traditional Friday prayers were to begin. Nobody was inside at the time.