Islamophobia In Australia: Pig’s Head Outside Muslim College In Brisbane, CCTV Footage Captures ‘Hate Crime’
Queensland Police Service has launched an investigation after a severed pig’s head was found in front of an Islamic school in Brisbane on Wednesday. In an apparent act of Islamophobia in Australia, the pig’s head was found inside a backpack with a swastika. In Islam, a pig is considered to be a forbidden animal.
The staff of Islamic College of Brisbane was shocked to find the item at the front gate of the school early in the morning. The Islamic college is owned by Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, based in Sydney.
The authorities are particularly worried because the people who have been targeted in the apparent hate crime are young children. The bag had been removed before the students arrived. The school consists of over a thousand pupils, the youngest of which are 5-year-olds.
Two young men, who are believed to have been responsible for the Islamophobic act, were captured on school cameras. School authorities have given the “clear” footage to police, which also includes a partial number plate of the Subaru WRX involved in the incident.
Acting school chairman Ali Kadri called the incident “really scary,” as he expressed concern about the safety of the children. However, he believes the people responsible for this will soon be arrested. According to a police spokesman, an emergency call in the morning informed about the backpack with decaying meat inside it.
Pig’s head dumped outside Brisbane Islamic school https://t.co/3FezFeKZD9 pic.twitter.com/FT2hLRkVsY
— ABC News Brisbane (@ABCNewsBrisbane) July 19, 2017
Kadri called it a “hate crime” against Muslims and held right wing “extremist” politicians responsible. He believes some of the “shock jocks” demonize Islamic schools in Australia, the Brisbane Times reported. Kadri said that it was alarming that people would get up early in the morning to do such things.
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: A box containing a pig’s head was dumped outside the gates of the Islamic College of Brisbane this morning. #7News pic.twitter.com/e2YoVgDjdj
— 7 News Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) July 19, 2017
In 2015, a Queensland mosque was under an arson attack. An unidentified man responsible for the attack was caught on CCTV. The Toowoomba mosque was attacked twice within four months. The fire affected the mosque so severely that the damage was estimated to be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to Labor MP Terri Butler, multiculturalism and freedom of religion are core Australian values. She stressed after the mosque attack that hate crimes have no place in the “modern and welcoming society” in Australia, The Guardian reported.
[Featured Image by Jeoffrey Maitem/Getty Images]
