POSTED: 12:31 pm EDT July 6, 2006
LEWISTON, Maine -- Police in Lewiston, Maine, have charged a local man for allegedly throwing a pig's head into a mosque.
The incident happened Monday night at the Lewiston-Auburn Islamic Center. Police arrested 33-year-old Brent Matthews, who reportedly told police it was a joke. He's charged with the misdemeanor crime of desecrating a church.
About 40 members mosque were praying late Monday when Matthews allegedly opened the door and rolled in a pig's head that had been skinned and frozen. Matthews apparently obtained the head at a pig roast, police said.
The Quran forbids Muslims from eating pork. Muslims consider pigs to be unclean animals, and those at the mosque said what happened on Monday night was insulting.
An Islamic civil liberties group is decrying the episode.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling for stepped up outreach by Maine's Muslim community to educate people about their faith to promote greater understanding.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said bigots often use pork products to attack or insult Muslims.
Spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said outreach is important. He said anti-Islam prejudice decreases when people get to know ordinary Muslims.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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