Islamic community calls out ‘anti-Muslim hate’ after suspicious fire at site of new Victorian mosque

Victoria police say a fire at the 168-year-old former church in Kilmore is being treated as suspicious, with the Islamic organisation behind its conversion to a mosque calling for it to be treated as a hate crime. Photograph: Kilmore Islamic & Community Centre

Islamic communities have called out a rise in “anti-Muslim hate” after a church that was being converted into a mosque was allegedly set alight in what Victoria police are treating as a “suspicious” fire.

In a statement, Victoria police said the abandoned church in Kilmore, north of Melbourne, was set alight at about 1.50pm on Tuesday, causing “significant damage” to the building. No one was inside at the time and the fire was believed to have been started in the rear of the building.