Imam killed in Belgian mosque attack, police say

[Zarvan]

(CNN) -- An apparent arson attack on a mosque near the Belgian capital killed the institution's imam and left another person injured, a police spokeswoman said Monday.
A suspect was in custody in the deadly fire, which occurred about 6:45 p.m. in Anderlecht, a suburb of Brussels, police spokeswoman Marie Verbeke said. No further details about the suspect were immediately available, and Anderlecht Mayor Gaetan Van Goidsenhoven told the Belgian broadcaster RTBF that no motive for the attack was known.
"One must remain extremely cautious when speculating on what happened," he said. "The situation is extremely serious as someone has been killed."
The 46-year-old imam is believed to have died of smoke inhalation, while the surviving victim was treated for the same thing, Verbeke said.
Van Goidsenhoven said a crowd gathered outside the mosque after the attack, but "things are quite calm."
"There are obviously lots of emotions, but no signs of violence," he said.
CNN's Alexander Felton contributed to this report.

Imam killed after man throws firebomb into mosque in Brussels
By msnbc.com staff
An imam died of smoke inhalation Monday evening in Brussels, the Belgian capital, after a man threw a firebomb through the window of a Shiite mosque, the Belgian newspaper La Derniere Heure reported. The mosque was nearly entirely burned down, the Agence France-Presse reported.
Worshipers were waiting to pray when someone entered with a bag filled with fuel, an eyewitness told a local state broadcaster, according to the BBC. He then flung the bag into the center of the room.
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A crowd of about 50 people gathered and firefighters tried to revive the imam, but he died on site. He was 46.
A suspect was caught not far from the mosque, La Derniere Heure reported. A second person was injured.
Belgium has about half a million Muslims out of a population of 11 million, Reuters reported. In December, a gunman killed seven people after shooting into a crowd of Christmas shoppers in Liege, in eastern Belgium.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

 

[Leader]

in fact it was the Masjid that was set on fire, and Imam sahib got fire in attempt to extinguish the flames...

what they have been feeding their generations for the last ten years or so, is soon going to bear fruits, their next generation radicalised terrorists !!

 

[Surenas]

According to Belgian media the attacker is a radical salafist of North-African origin, probably Moroccan I think.

 

[A1Kaid]

Most likely European right-wing actor(s) behind this criminal action. These types of incidents will likely be more frequent in the coming years as right-wing political parties in Europe gain a foothold in Governments across Europe; their supporters some of them are quite hardcore.

 

[A1Kaid]

According to Belgian media the attacker is a radical salafist of North-African origin, probably Moroccan I think.

Doesn't make any sense at all, one his actions go against salafi teaching, two can you share a source to that?

 

[Yeti]

A police spokeswoman confirmed to the Associated Press that the imam had died in the arson attack but did not provide any further details. She said one person had been arrested and no other people were being sought in connection with the attack.


A Similar thing happened to a Mosque in Luton but that was linked to be the work of the far right EDL mob.

 

[gubbi]

According to Belgian media the attacker is a radical salafist of North-African origin, probably Moroccan I think.

Sunni vs Shiite thing? Considering that the mosque was a Shiite mosque, as highlighted in the news report.

 

[AUz]

Thats f*cked up. All the propaganda and hate against Muslims is showing results now .... As I know it , these little ******* jobless kids like EDL guys etc will get their ****s handed to them if they start doing things like this more often. Probably , these right-winger nutts don't know but the Muslim converts in jail are STRICT HARDCORE gangsters (many of them) ..I personally know that these "converts" are very practicing (more than needed lol) ... These right-wingers will get their assesss whooooppppeddddd if this situation becomes a "gang-war" type situation ......

 

[Surenas]

Doesn't make any sense at all, one his actions go against salafi teaching, two can you share a source to that?

"Extreme salafist achter dodelijke aanslag moskee" - HLN.be

Google translation:

"The deceased imam has first tried to extinguish the fire, along with another charge of the mosque. Vain. Both tried them afterwards outside to get through the upper floor, but only one man survived," said Azzedine Laghmich, a Shiite leader, who works in the mosque. According Laghmich the man stormed with a knife and an ax inside the building and he founded a fire with gasoline. Then he walked back outside, shouting Salafist slogans about the conflict in Syria. Passers-by stopped him and believers, however, to the local police came and arrested him.

The Vice President of the French College of the Muslim Executive of Belgium, Isabelle Praile, self Shiite, told the RTBF that witnesses stated that the action of an extremist Salafis went. "The Rida Mosque, the largest Shiite mosque in Brussels, had a few years ago, guarded by police after threats of Salafists," said Praile. The police said that the motive of the arrested perpetrator is still unknown.

 

[Roybot]

BRUSSELS - (AP) -- A mosque near Brussels was the target Monday evening of an arson attack in which the imam died, Belgian authorities said late Monday.

One man was arrested -- a Muslim who said he was born in 1978 -- in the attack on the mosque in Anderlecht, a suburb of Brussels, the Belgian capital, said Jean-Marc Meilleur, a spokesman for the Brussels Prosecutor's Office.

Police say mosque near Brussels set on fire, imam dies - The Washington Post

Thats f*cked up. All the propaganda and hate against Muslims is showing results now .... As I know it , these little ******* jobless kids like EDL guys etc will get their ****s handed to them if they start doing things like this more often. Probably , these right-winger nutts don't know but the Muslim converts in jail are STRICT HARDCORE gangsters (many of them) ..I personally know that these "converts" are very practicing (more than needed lol) ... These right-wingers will get their assesss whooooppppeddddd if this situation becomes a "gang-war" type situation ......

You need to calm down. Arsonist was a Muslim man himself.

 

[Surenas]

Thats f*cked up. All the propaganda and hate against Muslims is showing results now .... As I know it , these little ******* jobless kids like EDL guys etc will get their ****s handed to them if they start doing things like this more often. Probably , these right-winger nutts don't know but the Muslim converts in jail are STRICT HARDCORE gangsters (many of them) ..I personally know that these "converts" are very practicing (more than needed lol) ... These right-wingers will get their assesss whooooppppeddddd if this situation becomes a "gang-war" type situation ......

To bad that the attacker himself was a muslim and not some right-wing guy. Your guys doesn't seem to understand that you don't need parties like EDL, when your keep kiling your own religious brothers.

 

[Peaceful Civilian]

Many be attack from Islamic Religious extremist. There are many firkas of Muslims and they don't like each other, Specially on the level of Imams.

 

[Black Widow]

Most likely European right-wing actor(s) behind this criminal action. These types of incidents will likely be more frequent in the coming years as right-wing political parties in Europe gain a foothold in Governments across Europe; their supporters some of them are quite hardcore.

r a man threw a firebomb through the window of a Shiite mosque

may be you are right, or may be not. May be the attack was Muslims Internal fight. Let us stop speculation and pray for injured.

may Maulavi sahab soul rest in peace.

 

[SyrianChristianPatriot]

The guy that killed him was a saudi infliunced salafist, the ideology that saudi arabia funds in the mosques of europe this is the result you can see it good and clear what they do to shia's this is why the salafist must totally be destroyed.

 

[Devil Soul]

Brussels mosque arson kills one
By AFP
Published: March 13, 2012

A witness saw the suspect, a man, set fire to the building, Verbeke said, but no other details were immediately available about him either.
BRUSSELS: A man set fire to a mosque in Brussels on Monday, killing its 47-year-old imam and injuring another person, in an arson attack that destroyed a large part of the building, police told AFP.
Police officials at the scene “confirmed it was the imam” who died when a firebomb was thrown into the Shiite mosque, police spokeswoman Marie Verbeke said.
The imam, who succumbed to the fumes in the burnt-out place of worship, was with a second person, who was lightly injured, at the time of the attack.
“A suspect was taken into custody at the scene,” Verbeke added.
A witness saw the suspect, a man, set fire to the building, Verbeke said, but no other details were immediately available.
Anderlecht Mayor Vincent Van Goidsenhoven said the suspect threw a Molotov cocktail at the mosque, Belga news agency reported.
“The mosque was apparently almost entirely burned down,” Verbeke said.
Belgian public broadcasters RTBF and a stream of Twitter users said that a group of at least 50 people had gathered outside the Shiite mosque.
Police said they received a call at 6:45 pm (1745 GMT) and the body was pulled out 45 minutes later.
The area around the mosque, near Belgium’s main international railway hub, has a large immigrant Muslim population.