JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - A national Muslim civil rights group is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of people who may have started a fire that destroyed a Joplin mosque.
The fire early Monday destroyed the Islamic Society of Joplin's mosque, where a smaller fire that was determined to be arson was reported in July. Fire officials are still determining a cause for Monday's fire.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced the $10,000 reward Monday and asked for increased police protection at Muslim and Sikh institutions and houses of worship.
A gunman killed six people at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee on Sunday before being shot and killed by police. CAIR said in a news release that Sikh men who wear beards and turbans are often mistaken for Muslims.