Photo by Christopher Peak
Haydar Elevulu
Haydar Elevulu stared at the charred exterior of the Middletown Avenue mosque his community had hoped to have rebuilt by September. He felt “hurt” that someone might have such hatred against Muslims, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, to have set fire to it.
But Elevulu barely had a moment to dwell on that thought— as New Haveners of all faiths rallied around the congregation with offers of help and (at last count) more than $69,000 in donations to rebuild.
The two-alarm fire badly damaged the Diyanet Mosque at 531 Middletown Ave. Sunday afternoon as the 300-member congregation was in the midst of a long-planned reconstruction project. Fire Chief John Alston Jr. said someone set the fire intentionally.