Local 4 is getting an up-close look at a building used by the American Muslim Center in Dearborn that suffered heavy damage in what may be a hate crime.
The garage-type storage building is behind 3250 Pelham Street in Dearborn and the building appears to be a total loss due to a fire there Tuesday morning.
WATCH: Raw video of mosque building damage
The Council on American-Islamic Relations asked the FBI to investigate a possible bias motive for the fire and some anti-Arab graffiti sprayed on another building on the small campus. The American Muslim Center uses the buildings here for weddings, funerals and interfaith gatherings. The word "Arab" can be seen sprayed on a building next to the burned garage.
Looking at the buildings, there's no signage that would tell a visitor that the buildings are used by Muslims. In an interview this morning with Local 4 News Morning, Dawud Walid, executive director of Michigan's Council on American-Islamic Relations says "Muslims can be seen coming and going from the buildings, anyone can see that it's a center used by Muslims."
Walid asked the FBI to investigate and says agents canvassed the area Tuesday speaking with people to see if anyone saw any suspicious activity. A person associated with the center says he believes someone threw a firebomb into the storage building and neighbors apparently saw 4 people running from the area around 11 a.m. Tuesday. That storage building appears to be a total loss.