(PHILADELPHIA, P.A., 12/8/15) — The Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Philadelphia) today welcomed the ongoing investigations by Philadelphia police and FBI of an incident in which a severed pig’s head was tossed at a mosque on Sunday night.
Surveillance video outside the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, in Philadelphia’s Kensington section, showed a red pickup truck drive past and an arm tossing something toward the mosque from the passenger window. An employee discovered the animal’s head the next morning.
CAIR: Someone Left a Severed Pig’s Head at This Philadelphia Mosque
CAIR-Philadelphia suggested this incident may be tied to increasing anti-Muslim rhetoric by public figures such as leading GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson.
“This vandalism of a sacred space comes in the midst of an election cycle that has given us the most public attacks on an American minority in living memory,” said CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Jacob Bender. “Attacks upon American Muslims should be, and must be, the responsibility of all Americans to condemn.”
CAIR is offering community leaders free copies of its booklet, “Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety,” which was published in response to past threats to and attacks on American mosques. The booklet may be requested through CAIR’s website: http://www.cair.com/mosque-safety-guide.html
The Washington-based Muslim civil rights group is also asking Muslim community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR’s Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/civil-rights/report-an-incident/view/form.html
– END –
CONTACT: CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Jacob Bender, 267-515-6710, jbender@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Nabeelah Naeem, 202-341-4171, nnaeem@cair.com
