TITUSVILLE, Florida – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called for a local, state and federal hate crime investigation of the vandalism and attempted desecration of a mosque in that state, the latest such incident in a recent spike in attacks on Muslim houses of worship nationwide.
According to police in Titusville, Fla., a man entered the carport of the Islamic Society of Central Florida Al-Mumin Mosque on Friday and broke several cameras, lights and windows. The alleged vandal also left bacon by the front door of the mosque.
A police statement said in part: “Surveillance footage shows an unidentified male entered into the mosque carport at approximately 11:00 PM Friday January 1st 2015. The suspect pulled a machete from a bag and used the machete to cause the damage to the mosque.”
“The use of pork in an incident of this type is one clear indicator of a possible bias motive for the vandalism,” said CAIR-Florida Regional Operations Director Nezar Hamze.
