Police and FBI Investigate After Philadelphia Mosque Caretaker Finds Severed Pig's Head Thrown at Building
Early Monday morning, NBC Phildalphia reports, the manager of a North Philadelphia mosque discovered a bloody, severed pig’s head that surveillance footage later showed had been thrown at the building from a red pickup truck.
This is the second time the the Al Aqsa Islamic Society has been targeted in recent weeks: a few days after the Paris attacks, an unidentified called and left a voicemail.
“I hope you people are happy about what you did in Paris,” the man said, according to NBC. “I’d just like to state for the record that Allah is a piece of pork shit.” The Quran prohibits Muslims from eating pork.
Philly police said they are stepping up patrols around houses of worship all over the city, the Associated Press reports:
The police department meanwhile hopes to enhance security video that shows someone throwing the animal’s head out the passenger door of a red pickup truck, Commissioner Charles Ramsey said Tuesday. No arrests have been made in the Sunday night incident outside the Al Aqsa Islamic Society in west Philadelphia.
The Quran, the holy book of Islam, prohibits Muslims from eating pork, and pigs have been used to taunt or offend Muslims. Last year, attackers in Greece left a pig’s head and painted anti-Muslim slogans outside an Islamic studies center in Athens. Similar incidents have also occurred in France.
Mayor Michael Nutter has promised a $2,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in any hate crime case, the AP reports. The FBI is also investigating the incident.
“I don’t know if they want to treat us like pigs or we look like pigs or act like pigs,” Nabil Khalil, the manager of the Al Aqsa Islamic Society, told NBC. “You’re always going to be looking over your shoulder.
Image via Google Maps. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.