--- description: A Muslim woman's clothing was set on fire on New York's Fifth Avenue in what police are investigating as a potential hate crime title: Muslim Woman's Clothing Set on Fire on Fifth Avenue image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt195d78715cdf9150/6988a5e7656a3fedccbcd16a/fifth-ave-nyc.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Muslim Woman's Clothing Set on Fire on Fifth Avenue by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 14, 2016 12:45 AM CUT  Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 14, 2016 12:45 AM CUT A Muslim woman’s clothing was [set on fire](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/09/13/muslim-woman-set-on-fire-on-new-yorks-fifth-avenue-in-possible-hate-crime-police-say/ "undefined") on New York’s Fifth Avenue in what police are investigating as a potential hate crime. The hijab-wearing woman told police she noticed a warm spot on her sleeve while standing outside a Valentino store, and when she turned her focus toward it, she saw it was on fire. She quickly patted it out, and looked up to see a man standing nearby with a lighter. The incident reportedly left a “quarter-sized hole” in her blouse, a police spokesperson told the Washington _Post_. Police have obtained [surveillance footage](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/09/13/muslim-woman-set-on-fire-on-new-yorks-fifth-avenue-in-possible-hate-crime-police-say/ "undefined") of the suspect, and are investigating the incident as a potential hate crime. “We are clearly seeing a spike in attacks on individual Muslims and Islamic institutions in New York and around the country, which should be of concern to all Americans,” said the director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations New York chapter. The news comes just weeks after [an imam and his assistant](http://time.com/4453566/new-york-imam-shooting-suspect-arrested/ "undefined") were shot to death in Queens. Their alleged killer, who denies guilt, has been charged with murder. \[[_The Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/09/13/muslim-woman-set-on-fire-on-new-yorks-fifth-avenue-in-possible-hate-crime-police-say/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4490636/muslim-woman-fire-fifth-avenue/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4490636/muslim-woman-fire-fifth-avenue/"},"headline":"Muslim Woman's Clothing Set on Fire on Fifth Avenue","datePublished":"2016-09-14T00:45:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:34:38.575Z","description":"Police are investigating the incident as a potential hate crime","url":"https://time.com/4490636/muslim-woman-fire-fifth-avenue/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt195d78715cdf9150/6988a5e7656a3fedccbcd16a/fifth-ave-nyc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt195d78715cdf9150/6988a5e7656a3fedccbcd16a/fifth-ave-nyc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"fifth-ave-nyc","caption":"Fifth Ave.","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4490636/muslim-woman-fire-fifth-avenue/","name":"Muslim Woman's Clothing Set on Fire on Fifth Avenue"}}]}] ```