Gold Coast mosque: Pig’s head and heart dumped outside Labrador Islamic worship centre
The Gold Coast’s Islamic community has been left “heartbroken” after the head and heart of a pig was dumped on the front door of the city’s largest mosque. WARNING: GRAPHIC PICTURES
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THE Gold Coast’s Islamic community has been left “heartbroken” after the head and heart of a pig was dumped on the front door of the city’s largest mosque.
The pig remains, which were painted green, were found at the front door of the Labrador worship centre on Friday just before afternoon prayers, sparking a police investigation.
It is the first incident of its kind at the mosque in nearly a decade.
Police have condemned the incident while the mosques operators are ramping up security.
Gold Coast Islamic Society chairman Hussin Goss says he was saddened by what he described as an act of “hate”.
“I was stunned (when I saw the head), I was in shock and it is just heartbreaking,” he said.
“We have 15,000 Muslims here on the Gold Coast from 65 different nationalities and when someone targets the Muslim community we are all hurt.
“My family have been here for 100 years and it is quite shocking for the whole community.”
Friday is the day of prayer for the Islamic community.
A 21-year-old Southport woman has been charged with wilful damage.
She is due to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on November 11.
Gold Coast police Superintendent Craig Hanlon condemned any targeting of the city’s Muslim population
“The Islamic community are part of the Gold Coast society and it is disappointing that anyone would act like this,” he said.
“Through investigations and the use of CCTV we were able to identify the alleged offender and arrest them.
“This is behaviour which is not appropriate in our society in 2022 and we have used the full force of the law to ensure justice will be done.”
The Islamic Society is now planning a major upgrade to its CCTV network in response.
“In view of (Friday’s) disgusting incident, we need to install more cameras to cover the whole Masjid compound, including the community centre,” the society said in a message to its members.
“Our existing CCTV system is an older version which has been discontinued production and needs to be totally replaced.
“Therefore, we need to replace with a newer system covering the whole (complex).”
The upgrade is expected to cost around $20,000.
It comes eight years after significant anti-Islamic incidents on the Gold Coast.
In late 2014, in an unrelated incident, a group of men threatened to “run over” and “behead” a bearded man they believed was Muslim in a terrifying anti-Islamic attack at Ashmore.
It occurred the same week police were ordered to regularly patrol the Gold Coast’s only mosque at Arundel for fear of “hate attacks”.
Federal Multicultural Affairs and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said the incident was “awful”.
“I extend my solidarity to those directly affected, and to the wider Australian Muslim community,” he said.
“There’s no place for racism or Islamophobia in our multicultural society.”
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