Muslim community of Mankato, Minnesota, meets with city and police officials after safety concerns

MANKATO, Minn. — City and police officials attempted to reassure members of the Muslim community of Mankato recently after concerns about a suspected arson at a mosque.

“Every single Mankatoan has value and should feel safe,” said Jeremy Clifton, Mankato’s recently appointed director of public safety, before a gathering of about 40 attendees at the Islamic Center of Mankato on Friday.

Last week, members at the mosque said a man attempted to set part of their mosque on fire as part of a “brazen” act on Sunday afternoon. The Mankato police, however, said the Islamic Center of Mankato had not faced any threat, and a man was simply lighting firecrackers.

Clifton on Friday said the man who lit firecrackers near the mosque apologized.

The public safety director added that he will have better communication with leaders in the Muslim community in the future.

The man, who was not identified, has been cited for sale, possession and use of prohibited fireworks, a misdemeanor, the Mankato Department of Public Safety said in a statement last week.

People gathered at the mosque for Friday prayers said they felt Mankato police had downplayed their concerns. Abdi Sabrie, a co-founder and board member of the mosque, said many in the Muslim community in Mankato worry about their safety after the reelection of Donald Trump. He said the president-elect’s first term led to an increase in anti-Muslim vandalism attempts in Minnesota.

In 2016, a shirtless man attempted to tear down the Islamic Center’s sign, and in 2021, two vandals spray-painted slurs on a car owned by a member of the mosque.

On Friday afternoon, Sabrie said he thought it had been a good meeting, and leaders in the Muslim community look forward to working together with police in the future.

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