Community Rallies to Rebuild Mosque After Suspected Arson in Spanish Town
A fundraising campaign has been launched in the Catalan town of Piera to rebuild the Ar-Rahman mosque, which was damaged by the fire in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The campaign has so far raised more than €61,000 of the €100,000 needed for reconstruction, with support coming from local residents and community organizations in the town of 18,000 people, El Pais reported on Wednesday.
“We are very happy with the response from the people. We won’t allow anyone to divide us. Everyone knows each other here, and we are good neighbors,” said Said Alouchi, vice president of Piera’s Islamic community, which is largely made up of residents of Moroccan origin.
Alouchi described the fire as a “very hard” blow for the congregation, which had been making personal contributions for years to build a larger and more dignified place of worship.
Although the extent of the damage has yet to be fully assessed and the mosque remains sealed off, he emphasized the community’s limited financial capacity: “With our own internal resources, it’s impossible for us to carry out the necessary repairs.”
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The blaze, which severely damaged one of the mosque’s walls, is being investigated by the regional police, the Mossos d’Esquadra. Investigators have found traces of an accelerant, strengthening the suspicion that the fire was deliberately set.
On Monday, Catalonia’s Minister of Interior, Núria Parlon, said that if intentionality is confirmed, the case could be treated as a “hate crime” against the Muslim community.
Alouchi also believes the fire was planned, noting the time of the attack — after 3 a.m. — and the use of accelerants. “This wasn’t something done by kids,” he said, adding that he trusts the justice system to identify those responsible.
The incident has shocked the town, which, unlike other parts of Catalonia, has seen no controversy surrounding its mosque. The Muslim community established its first prayer space — a modest 40-square-meter basement — in 1998. A decade later, they moved to a larger facility. After years of fundraising, including personal sacrifices such as giving up vacations to Morocco, they were finally preparing to inaugurate the new mosque.
“We only had the perimeter fence left to build. We had already applied for the permits from the town hall,” said Alouchi.
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He received a call from local police shortly after the fire began. A neighbor had noticed smoke and flames after being woken by his dog’s barking. The building was empty and lacked surveillance cameras.
The mosque’s representatives told police they had no leads or suspicions about potential perpetrators. Firefighters described the blaze as “significant,” and a municipal architect’s report confirmed structural damage.
“If it is confirmed that the fire was intentional, this act does not reflect what Piera is — a town where the Muslim community has lived peacefully for many years,” said Mayor Carme González.
Source: Agencies
