| Nobody was hurt in the “malicious” incident, but the exterior of the mosque and Islamic cultural and education centre on the corner of Victoria Road and Wellington Street was damaged.
Police are now reviewing CCTV footage of the area in a bid to catch the culprits, and are appealing for witnesses.
Firefighters arrived at the centre shortly after 6 am to find the front doorway, facing onto Victoria Road, had been set alight.
The crews, from the Blackness Road station, extinguished the flames using a hosereel.
Chairman of the centre, Mohammed Razak, later surveyed the scene and described the attack on the centre as “stupid”.
He said, “Morning prayers start at 6.30 am, and there will have been guys here for that. I need to speak to them.
“I don’t know who would do something like this — it is so stupid. There is always traffic going past, even early in the morning, and somebody must have seen something.”
The Jamia Masjid Tajdar-e-Madina mosque has had problems in the past. It was given grant aid in the 1990s by the council for security measures to protect against vandalism and graffiti.
Councillors said at the time that racist attacks on ethnic minority places of worship — the “work of a small, mindless minority” — were to be condemned.
A Tayside Police spokesperson said, “Tayside Police are treating the cause of the fire as suspicious and inquiries are continuing. Nobody was injured but we believe there is damage to the door and the door frame.
“Anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area, or who knows who may have been responsible for starting the fire, is asked to call us on Dundee 223200.” |
