DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — When Chris Rodda saw the story about a 10-year-old girl at a local mosque was sprayed in the face by a stranger, she expresed her outrage through her journal, or blog, on the World Wide Web. Her entry and those of other bloggers characterized the incident as a hate crime, which created similar perceptions around the world even though investigators say they have no evidence it was.

The girl told Dayton police she was in the basement of the Islamic Center of Greater Dayton on Friday, Sept. 26, when she saw two men standing outside a window. One of the men sprayed her through the open window. The girl told police her face was burning and she felt nauseous.

A woman in the room said she also felt nauseous and the mosque was evacuated.

HAZMAT crews detected no known chemical irritants in the mosque or on the girl, but a can of pepper spray was found this week near the mosque, police said.

The incident occurred four days after a DVD titled "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," appeared as a paid advertising insert in the Dayton Daily News and other newspapers nationwide.

Dayton police, in conjunction with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, said they have no evidence the girl was the victim of a hate crime. Police said they have no suspects.

Rodda, who calls herself a novice blogger, was among the first to post an entry about the incident. Her entry, posted Sunday, titled "Muslim Children Gassed at Dayton Mosque After Obsession DVD Hits Ohio," was immediately picked up by other sites and generated thousands of comments on the Web.

Rodda said she "sensationalized" the headline on her blog to draw attention.

"I was mad, so I sort of shot from the hip," Rodda said, adding she has not talked to any law enforcement agencies, hospital officials or Islamic Center president Dr. Tarek Sabagh. She said her information came from people who know some people that attend the mosque.

Other bloggers soon posted their own thoughts.

In Washington, D.C., the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, issued a statement calling the incident a "senseless act of violence." Hillary Ross Browning expressed sympathy for the victims and issued a call for peace on Daytonblogs.mostmetro.com.

"We need to demonstrate to the people of the Dayton Islamic Center that ... we will not tolerate this hatred in our community."

Another post titled "Terrorists attack Ohio mosque," written by Aziz Poonawalla appeared on Beliefnet.com.

"Anyone who tries to disclaim any link between this despicable attack and the release of 20 million copies of the 'Obsession' DVD is either a fool or a liar," wrote Poonawalla, who has been blogging on Islamic affairs since 2002.

Sabagh said Tuesday the DVD has created an "atmosphere of fear," but "we don't want to jump to conclusions."

Contact these reporters at lsullivan@DaytonDailyNews.com or kmoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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