The Al-Saeh library in Tripoli, Lebanon was burned down, and most of the library’s collection was lost. The fire was an act of arson spurred by allegations of anti-Islamic sentiments at the library.
According to reports, there are varying viewpoints on why the fire was started. One theory is that the arsonist started the fire after finding an anti-Islam pamphlet in the library. Another expert suggests that the library’s owner could have written and published a criticism of Islam online.
RT.com has more: “Firefighters struggled to subdue the flames as the decades-old Al-Saeh library went up in smoke on Friday in the Serail neighborhood of Tripoli. Despite firefighters’ best efforts, little of the trove of historic books and manuscripts was recovered from the wreckage. ‘Two thirds of some 80,000 books and manuscripts housed there,’ a security source told Agence France Press, referring to the items destroyed. The source added that the blaze was started after a manuscript insulting the Prophet Mohammed was found hidden in the pages of one of the library books.