Fire investigators have found evidence of an accelerant in the remains of the fire that occurred early Friday morning at the Quba Islamic Institute in Houston, and are working to determine if the arson was a hate crime. The fire destroyed a building on the grounds of the center that was going to be used as a storage facility during an upcoming renovation project. No one was injured and the mosque was not damaged.

Ahsan Zahid, the assistant imam at the center said that the fire, which burned for more than an hour, completely destroyed the building, including all the contents. He said even the roof is falling in. The building was being used to store lights, computers, monitors, rolls of carpet and everything planned for use in the renovation. Some items on the grounds were also vandalized.

Fire officials met with leaders at another mosque in Houston and warned them to be wary of intruders. Quba Institute members said that earlier in the week they chased a masked man off the property, and that the center has seen other acts of vandalism. Hala Saadeh, a community center member, said that hate crimes is the first thing they think about. “It says right on the front – Islamic Institute. We’re not hiding ourselves.”

The community center caters to about 100 families. It was closed at the time of the fire and no one was inside. Ahsan Zahid, one of the imam’s sons, said that the targeted building was the only wood structure on the property. The Texas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling for state and federal investigations into possible religious targeting. Spokeswoman for the organization Ruth Nasrullah said that “it would only be prudent” to investigate a possible bias motive for the apparent arson attack, given the “unprecedented level of anti-Muslim rhetoric in our society.”