A 19-year-old man has been arrested in relation to a fire at a mosque in Auckland yesterday.
Emergency services were called to the mosque on Astley Ave in New Lynn at around 9am on Tuesday following a report of a fire that was determined to have been deliberately lit.
CCTV showed a person breaking into the building just before 1am and lighting the fire. The fire continued to smoulder “until just after 9am when it became visible and emergency services were called”.
Today, Waitematā CIB Detective Inspector Callum McNeill said a 19-year-old man has been arrested.
He said police were still working to establish why the mosque was targeted.
The man was due to appear in Waitakere District Court this morning, facing two charges of arson and one charge of burglary.
“Police wish to thank everyone who offered information following this incident, which assisted in the quick arrest,” McNeil said.
He said police would continue to provide support to the Muslim community and wish to reassure all in our community that this appeared to have been an isolated incident.
“As this matter is now before the court we’re unable to provide further comment.”
‘Unrest’ in Islamic community
The Islamic Council of New Zealand’s president said there were ongoing concerns about incidents within the community. (Source: Breakfast)
Muhammad Sajjad from the Islamic Council of New Zealand said there was “unrest” in the Islamic community.
“And this is not in particular to that incident, but [there’s] a growing wider concern about increasing sort of hate-related or racial discrimination incidents, so the community is quite concerned about that.”
He said life had changed for the Islamic community in New Zealand following the deadly March 15 terror attack at Al Noor Moque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch.
“I still strongly believe that we as proud Kiwi Muslims, we believe that New Zealand is one of the best places in the globe that we can exist freely, and celebrate, commemorate and exhibit our religious and cultural values.
“But having these incidents happen frequently is a matter of concern.”
Sajjad said the community needed reassurance that “we stand united against these kinds of acts and that’s not going to shake our strong belief and carry on what we do”.
