COLUMBUS — Vandals drilled holes in floors at the Islamic Center of Columbus, ripped up copies of the Quran and pulled water pipes from walls, saturating floors and ceilings of the three-story building.

        “I think this is part of the hate crimes that we have received right after the Sept. 11 attacks,” said Mohammed Shareef, president of the Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio. “Things have been cooled down, but it looks like there's some new revival.”

        Police on Monday had not determined whether the vandalism was related to the terrorist attacks but would look into that possibility, said spokesman Sgt. Earl Smith. He said police had not found any witnesses to the break-in and had no suspects.

        No damage estimate was available, though Mr. Shareef said the building would have to be renovated because of the damage.

        Members of the center, which serves as a mosque and has classrooms, discovered the damage when they came for prayer services about 7 a.m. Sunday, said Siraj Haji, one of the first to arrive at the building.

        Vandals apparently broke into the center through a side door, said Ahmad Al-Akhras, president of the Council on American Islamic Relations in Columbus.

        They then went to a third floor bathroom and pulled the water pipes from the sink and walls, Mr. Al-Akhras said.

        “When you first walked in, it was if it was raining,” Mr. Haji said. “Water had soaked into floors and the ceilings. ... Basically, it was unsafe to enter the building.”

        Several copies of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, were shredded or thrown into the parking lot, and light fixtures were pulled from the ceiling, Mr. Haji said.

        Mr. Shareef said center members will use an adjacent building it owns for its daily prayer services, and center officials will begin looking for a building to house their biweekly worship services.

        Mosques around Ohio have been targets of attacks since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

        At least one window was damaged by gunfire at The Islamic Center of Toledo, while a mosque in Parma, near Cleveland, has reported damage to windows.

        On Dec. 12, a suburban Cleveland man pleaded guilty to felony charges of burglary, ethnic intimidation and vandalism for ramming his car into the Islamic Center of Cleveland six days after the terrorist attacks. Eric M. Richley, 29, of Middleburg Heights, will be sentenced Jan. 9.

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