Pork: The other white meat.
Staten Island, NY (silive.com) -- It's being investigated as a hate crime -- someone scattered pieces of bacon over the New Dorp Beach field where the borough's Muslim community celebrated the end of Ramadan Sunday morning.
But that act of desecration failed to ruin what organizers described as a successful celebration -- about 1,500 worshipers gathered at the John D'Amato Field at New Dorp Lane and Cedar Grove Avenue, unaware of the early morning police investigation that preceded the ceremony.
"Everything went smoothly," said Dr. Mohamed Sadeia, president of the Muslim American Society on Staten Island, which organized the gathering. "The community is really not aware of it.
Dr. Sadiea was one of a handful of organizers who noticed the uncooked bacon on a small section of the field at about 8 a.m.
He said he contacted police, but kept the incident and investigation quiet, because he didn't want to distress the adults and children gathering for morning prayers.
"They didn't want to ruin the happiness of one of the only two holidays of the entire year," said Hesham El-Meligy, the founder of the Islamic Civic Association-Staten Island, who said he didn't attend the outdoor ceremony but had heard about the incident.
A police spokeswoman confirmed on Sunday that the NYPD's Hate Crime Unit is investigating the incident.
Adherents of Islam are forbidden to eat pork.
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Update:
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (silive.com) -- An anonymous caller is taking responsibility for Sunday's possible hate crime at a New Dorp Beach field where morning Ramadan prayers were scheduled, claiming in a message to the Advance that he had been discarding spoiled bacon when he left it on the field.
"Hi, Deborah. This is-- I was reading the article about the horrible incident of bacon and Muslims in the park and I wanted to let you know that is not my intention," said the male caller, in a 9:20 a.m. message left on a reporter's voice mail Tuesday. He stops short of saying his name.
"I had put the bacon there. It was going bad in my trunk and I put it out for the scavengers like the opossums and the raccoons and sea gulls, and I did not intend for that to cause anybody any problems.
"It was not any (inaudible) anti-Muslim act, and I did not want to offend anybody in any way. Thank you and have a good day."
Did they have a permit to use a public park for a religious service? Where was the ACLU?
ReplyDeleteIs bacon an illegal substance? Is possession of large quantities prohibited? It's biodegradable, so EPA has no jurisdiction.
I found bacon on the ground, so I did what anyone would do...I called the police and reported a hate crime.
ReplyDeleteThank you I feel much safer now!
DeleteIf we flew with a baby piggy on board there were be fewer suicide bombers....
ReplyDeleteEither that or just cover the door to the plane in bacon. LOL
Deletethere was a rumor that there was swine blood put in inconspicuous places where Muslims are at the Ground Zero area. In taxi cabs and on streets where they gather. I heard this when they had the controversy about building a Mosque at Ground Zero...True or not I don't know.
ReplyDelete