Pig Head Philadelphia Mosque Desecrated

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Severed pig's head thrown at Philadelphia mosque door - Local and federal authorities are investigating a possible hate crime in Philadelphia after early-morning prayers at the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society were disrupted by the discovery of a severed pig’s head on the mosque’s doorsteps.

A mosque spokesman said surveillance cameras captured video of a red pickup truck that drove by the building twice Sunday night; during its second pass, an item was seen thrown out of the vehicle’s window and landing at the door of the mosque.

A worker opening the mosque — which is in the same building as an Islamic school and the Arab American Development Corp. — found the pig’s head around 6 a.m. Monday.

Pork is considered non-halal, or food that is not religiously-sanctioned by Islamic law.

“It’s just a pig’s head — that’s not a big deal; but it does send a message,” said mosque spokesman and Arab American Development Corp. Director Marwan Kreidie. “I think people are worried that if they do a pig’s head, they could do something more violent in the future.”

Authorities are investigating reports that a pig’s head was left outside a Philadelphia mosque. (Courtesy of Al Aqsa Islamic Society)
Police interviewed potential witnesses on Monday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

“We’ve got to be involved,” officer Pete Berndlmaier told the newspaper. “If they get away doing something like that, they are going to up the ante.”

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Philadelphia Mayor-elect Jim Kenney called on the people of his city to “join me in rejecting this despicable act and supporting our Muslim neighbors.”

“The bigotry that desecrated Al-Aqsa mosque today has no place in Philadelphia,” Kenney said in a statement Monday.

The incident could be a violation of the city’s ordinance on ethnic intimidation and institutional vandalism, Rue Landau, executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, told the Inquirer.

“It is a heinous act that sends a message to Arab American communities that they are not wanted here in Philadelphia, and that could not be further from the truth,” Landau said.

The complex will be under increased police protection, Kreidie said.

Kreidie, who called it a “hate-motivated” act, doesn’t believe anyone from the surrounding community was responsible for throwing the pig’s head. This particular mosque hasn’t been targeted in the past, even after 9/11, Kreidie said; but national discourse about Muslims has become increasingly hostile lately.

Indeed, many Muslims in America report feeling or experiencing growing anti-Muslim sentiment, particularly since the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. That rhetoric, Muslims say, has also taken center stage in the political arena: On Monday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”

Republican presidential contender Donald Trump said on Dec. 7 that he was in favor of a 'total and complete' shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. (C-SPAN)
Trump previously called for surveillance of some mosques and requiring Muslims to register with the government.

“There’s a constant climate of insinuation of terrorism and disloyalty that creates this pervasive sense of being an outsider,” Haroon Moghul, a fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Washington, told The Post last week.

There have been other stories of severed pig heads being left at mosques. In 2006, someone threw a severed pig’s head into a Maine mosque as a group of men prayed inside. The suspect said it was a prank, but the incident rattled the Lewiston Somali community.

And on Sunday, a pig’s head was reportedly found in the bathroom of a university mosque in Australia.

According to the Inquirer:

Nabil Ibrahim Khalil, the caretaker at the mosque since it opened 23 years ago, said an anonymous caller left a voice mail message the day after the Paris terrorist attacks last month in which he called Allah “a piece of pork s–.” The answering machine trapped the male caller’s number, which was turned over to police.

Khalil said he was unsure if the incidents were related.

“A lot of people think it’s kryptonite to Muslims and it’s not,” said Kreidie, the mosque spokesman. “It’s just degrading and humiliating to people, and you know why it’s being done.”