Mosque Arsonist Sentenced to 10 Years

A Muslim man pleaded guilty recently to first-degree arson in the mid-2010 fire at a Marietta mosque.

Tamsir Mendy, 27, originally from Gambia and most recently a Powder Springs resident, set fire to the Masjid Al-Hedaya (Islamic Center of Marietta) sometime after evening prayers July 5, 2010.

Last week, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years, 10 of it in prison, according to a WSB-TV report.

The most recent information, on the Department of Corrections website, says Mendy is being held at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, where inmates are assessed before entering the system.

Mendy confessed to the crime and said accelerants were used in the fire, according to officials. During a probable cause hearing in 2010, Assistant Fire Chief Scott Tucker summarized Mendy's confession.

The burned mosque had split off from another congregation. Both groups were worshipping on adjacent properties, but there had been friction, Tucker said.

Mendy reportedly told police he wanted the groups to worship together again.

Mendy has been in custody since his arrest two days after the fire. He had worshipped at Masjid Al-Hedaya for a short time before the blaze.

The head of the mosque, Imam Hafiz Inayatullah, said at the time that they had spoken only once.

See more on this case.