Witness interviewed over pig incident at Warsaw Muslim centre
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
13.07.2015 13:27
Police interviewed a witness on Sunday evening after an unidentified person left parts of a pig both inside and outside a newly opened centre for Muslims in Warsaw.
The Centre of Muslim Culture, Warsaw. Photo: wikimedia commons/Tadeusz Rudzki
The witness is a non-Polish speaking employee of the centre, and police used the services of a translator for the interview.
Surveillance cameras at the building, which includes a mosque, recorded a woman in dark glasses dropping a pig's head in the car park, and a second body part within the building.
Facebook page Islam na Polski, which covers Islamic themes in Polish, described the incident as “an attack of rudeness, intolerance, as well as an act that violates animal rights.”
Although there have been some expressions of sympathy with the Muslim community on the Islam na Polski page, the post also prompted numerous denunciations of Muslims.
If identified, the woman who apparently carried out the crime could be charged with offending religious sensibilities.
The Centre of Muslim Culture opened on 6 July in Warsaw's Ochota district. One of its roles is to provide the headquarters for the Muslim League of the Polish Republic.
It is estimated that up to 25,000 Muslims currently live in Poland, including foreign students, diplomats, businessmen and refugees.
About 5000 identify as Polish Tatars, whose ancestors settled in eastern Poland several centuries ago. (nh)