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Summary
Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville suburb.A suspicious fire that damaged construction equipment at the site of a future mosque in Tennessee has some local Muslims worried that their project has been dragged into the national debate surrounding Manhattan's ground zero.Authorities told leaders of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro that four pieces of heavy construction equipment on the site were doused with an accelerant and one set ablaze early Saturday morning. The site is now being patrolled at all hours by the sheriff's department.Federal investigators have not ruled it arson, saying only that the fire was being probed and asked the public to call in tips. Eric Kehn, spokesman for the Nashville office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said arson is suspected.The site has already seen vandalism, said Joel Siskovic, a spokesman for the FBI in the Memphis office. A sign at the site was spray-painted with the words Not Welcome and then torn in half. The FBI is investigating the fire in case it is a civil rights violation.We want to make sure there are not people acting with the intent to prevent people from exercising their First Amendment rights, Siskovic said.
