A mosque in the Shreveport-Bossier community of Louisiana was vandalized this week with strips of pork, which were put on the door handles of the building to evidently force worshippers to touch pork before entering.
Many Muslims refrain from eating pork, as Islam considers pigs unclean. Something similar occurred in South Carolina in October, when strips of bacon were left outside an Islamic Center, spelling out “PIG CHOPS.”
Mosque members are not pressing charges, but reported the incident to police so it would be on file. Police say it could be considered a hate crime.
“It appears that the individual who did this tried to intimidate the individuals at this location,” said Mark Natale, a spokesman for the Bossier City Police Department.
“These types of incidents will continue to occur as long as our nation’s leaders fail to speak out forcefully against the growing anti-Islam sentiment in American society,” CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said in a statement on Tuesday.
