Muslims fear the person who dumped a pig’s head outside a city mosque lives in their midst.Shock waves have rippled through the city’s Islamic community after the attack at the Darwin Drive prayer centre.
Worshippers found the severed head on the steps of the building on Monday night at about 9pm on their way to prayers, as the News reported.
Abdul Arain, who runs the city’s Muslim helpline, said: “Muslims understand that this person has their own agenda but it will not affect our agenda to live peacefully.
“People are angry, sad, and some people say this is not representative of Cambridge and is a sectarian attack.
“The attack was carried out on a small and little known centre so we think it must have been someone local who has done this.”
Cambridge mum Farah Mogul, 36, of Girton, who has been raising supplies for flood-hit Pakistan, said: “I am getting worried about the things going on at the moment.
“It is happening all over the world. It’s terrible it should come to our doorsteps here in Cambridge.”
Muslims held an emergency meeting on Tuesday after the incident at the Shah Jalal Bangladeshi Community House.
The dumping of the pig’s head has been condemned by the city’s MP Julian Huppert and the community’s leaders.
Now Muslims across the city are trying to take in the distressing news as the police continue to investigate the incident.
Cambridge News Online was inundated with comments on the suspected hate crime.
One contributor said: “This is an entirely unprovoked attack on the Muslim community . . . what kind of person would do this? I am not a Muslim, nor am I any other religion, but even I feel quite personally sickened by this!”
Richard Green called for the culprits to be brought to justice and made a rallying call to stamp out hate crime.
He said: “Islam is under siege from all sides and it’s about time decent people of all faiths and persuasions took a stand against vile behaviour of this kind.”
Some 40 families attend the centre. Police took the head away for forensic examination.
Shaikh Abdul Mabud, from the Islamic Academy in Cambridge, branded the incident a “hate crime”. He said: “This is very sad and shows a lack of understanding, and intolerance.”
Anyone with information about the incident should call police on 0345 456 4564.
Cambridge News
