Officials at the Islamic Center of Bloomington said a window was broken at the center and a liquid accelerant was poured through the window to start the fire. Damage was minor.
As some may remember, Indiana is also the home of the Evansville resident who decided to ram his car into a mosque and the Gary resident who shot at a Yemeni-born US citizen, both in 2001. You can read about these and other happenings in Indiana here. Bloomington has seen hate crimes in the past, most notably as the starting point of Benjamin Smith's 1999 rampage across two states (a good history of that avaialable here. )
Smith's activities in the community, even before the murder of Won-Joon Yoon, had led to the creation of several anti-hate groups, including Bloomington United. Since then, BU has been active in sponsoring anti-hate programs throughout the community. However, they have only written a single letter to the editor regarding the treatment of Muslims in Indiana. Their reaction to this event will determine whether they are a viable community organization. We need their leadership now.