Improvised explosive device detonated at Minnesota mosque

A mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, was bombed early Saturday morning in what mosque members have called an "unimaginable" threat to religious freedom. No one was injured, though people were on site preparing for morning prayers.

The explosion at the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center damaged the imam's office with what officials described as an "improvised explosive device." A witness reportedly "saw something being thrown at the imam's office window from a van or truck before the blast."

"We came to this country for the same reason everyone else came here: freedom to worship," said Yasir Abdalrahman, a mosque attendee. "And that freedom is under threat. Every other American should be insulted by this."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The FBI is investigating, and the Council on American–Islamic Relations and the Muslim-American Association of Minnesota are offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.