ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Council on American-Islamic Relations, also known as CAIR, is calling on authorities to investigate an incident as a possible hate crime.
Officials with the Masjid AbuBakr Al-Seddiq Mosque found bacon by the front door and in the parking lot of the mosque.
The pork product is known to be disrespectful to the Muslim religion, since the Quran prohibits Muslims from eating pork.
“As with a number of similar attempted acts of religious desecration nationwide, the use of pork products to target an Islamic institution is a clear indicator of a bias motive and should be investigated as a possible hate crime,” Jaylani Hussein, CAIR-MN executive director, said.
Regina Mustafa is a part of the Southeast Minnesota chapter of CAIR. She said what happened is disheartening and shows that there’s a need for interfaith discussions.
“There's a lot of misconceptions and lack of communication,” Mustafa said, “and we still need to work on building those relationships across religious and spiritual lines.”
The Minnesota chapter of CAIR called on local, state, and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate this incident.
In response to this incident, there will be a Sunrise Solidarity Vigil for the Rochester Muslim Community. It’s being held outside the mosque, located at 17 North Broadway Avenue, at 6:30 a.m. on Sun., June 24.
