A mosque in Saguenay, Que., has been defaced with what the vandals claim is pig blood.
CBC reports the incident took place early Sunday evening at the Mosquée de Saguenay, with a letter left at the scene telling the Muslim congregation to “assimilate or go home.”
“This mosque has been baptized with fresh pig’s blood from Quebec,” read the letter, which also demanded the mosque members renounce their hijabs, niqabs, burqas and sharia.
Video of the defaced mosque, embedded below, shows a cracked window in addition to the blood-stained walls, although it’s not clear whether the two are related. Pork is considered haram, or forbidden, so the use of pig’s blood is an added provocation.
Moustafa Elayouby, who runs the mosque, told CBC: “It doesn’t even deserve a response.”
Quebec has been embroiled in a months-long public debate about accommodation of religious minorities, with the Parti Quebecois government of Premier Pauline Marois pushing a contentious “Quebec Charter of Values” that would outlaw the display of religious clothing and symbols from public spaces.
Quebec’s National Assembly, by the way, has a crucifix prominently displayed above the speaker’s chair that is unlikely to be affected by the proposed charter, because it’s clearly just a measure to harass Sikhs, Muslims and other non-Christians under the guise of secularism.
[CBC News]