Fire Guts Part of Pakistani Eatery

Standing in the smoky ruins of his tandoori-style restaurant in Anaheim, Akbar Ali fretted Thursday about the eight catering orders he wouldn’t be able to fill this weekend, some for more than 100 people.

“I don’t know what to tell them,” said Ali, wondering, too, how he is going to make a living until his restaurant can be rebuilt.

“This is all I have, my only source of income,” said the 54-year-old father of two young children.

Anaheim firefighters are investigating the 2 a.m. blaze that gutted the front of the restaurant on West Ball Road as possible arson. Though authorities are not calling it a hate crime, Ali and some of his clientele, most of which is Muslim, believe that he may be a victim of misdirected anger spawned by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

After investigating for several hours, fire authorities allowed Ali to examine the damage. He said that the kitchen was in relatively good condition and that fire officials told him a blaze was set at the front of the restaurant. Officially, however, authorities will say only that the case is still under investigation, and they put the damage at about $150,000.

The Baker’s Dozen Donut shop next door was also damaged. So was a vacant barbershop on the other side of the restaurant.

Although the number of reported incidents directed at Muslims has risen dramatically in Orange County since Sept. 11, most have been cases of verbal abuse, an Orange County Human Relations Commission official said.

It is premature to say that the restaurant fire involved a hate crime, said Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the commission. “But if it turns out that’s what it is, it’s a sad day for this county.”

Ali immigrated to the United States 15 years ago from his Kashmir home in Pakistan near the border with India, a place where the sound of gunfire is too familiar. Seven years ago, after establishing a successful restaurant business in Orange County, he said, he proudly became a U.S. citizen.

He bought the then-Taj Mahal three years ago when he sold his interest in a Buena Park restaurant. He renamed it Islamic Halal Tandoori to reflect the ovens used in preparing certain types of Pakistani dishes. More than 90% of his business comes from Muslims who live in the area.

“Our food is almost 100% like food back home.”

After the terrorist attacks, however, he began to rethink the name and worry about his family’s safety.

“After [Sept. 11], a lot of my customers suggested I change the name of my restaurant,” Ali said. “I was very nervous, so I thought maybe I would. But then this happened. There was no time.”

He has tried to leave the restaurant quickly after closing to cut down the time he’s there alone. On Wednesday night, he said, he checked thoroughly to make sure everything was shut off, even the stereo in the kitchen.

“Someone has done this to me, but why? I am an American citizen, too,” he said.

In recent years, there have only been two or three incidents that could be construed as anti-Muslim, he said. “But always, it was just teenagers banging on the windows and then running off. We’ve never had anything more serious.”

Also out of work now is Ali’s nephew, Mohammad Yaqoob, who was a cook there.

“It’s just hard to believe this,” he said. “We worked so hard to give people a nice restaurant.”

Ahne Alb, a regular customer, said the fire was enough to make him think about returning to his native Yemen, near Saudi Arabia.

“I have lived in this country 20 years,” Alb said, “Now I find out I don’t belong . . . any more.”

Alb said his wife, who wears a religious shawl, is afraid to leave the house for fear the shawl will draw attention from anti-Muslims.

“We can’t live like this,” Alb said.

Not everyone milling about the small shopping center where the fire occurred was sympathetic.

“This is war now, this is what you have to expect,” said Tim Lotman, who wore a Bin Laden, Wanted Dead or Alive T-shirt. “We need to take all these [Muslims] and send them out of this country. Pack ‘em up, ship ‘em out.”

But Ali is an American citizen, someone pointed out to Lotman, who lives nearby.

“Revoke his citizenship,” Lotman responded. “Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t do this. But this is what they can expect from now on.”

Ali, who has insurance, said he is determined to rebuild.

“But it won’t be the same name,” he said. “I’ll have to keep religion out of it.”