Bacon and ham scattered near mosque in Warragul
In Warragul, Victoria, Australia, bacon and ham were scattered near a local mosque. The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon and was captured by surveillance cameras. Victoria Police are investigating the case, ABC News Australia reports.
The footage shows a man in grey sportswear throwing bacon near the entrance to the Warragul mosque. Mosque representatives called the act an attempt to insult, intimidate and divide people, and said it would not succeed.
Community reaction
Mansour Shamsi, vice-president of the mosque committee, said the facility had previously been targeted by graffiti and vandalism. According to him, following the latest incident, the mosque received significant support from the wider community.
Mohamed Mohideen, president of the Islamic Council of Victoria, said the incident caused pain to the Muslim community and heightened concerns about Islamophobia. He also said Muslims have no intention of taking control of churches or undermining other people's faith.
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In July, the Islamic Council of Victoria contacted police after Islamic graves at Maddingley General Cemetery were targeted with stickers depicting a pig. Mohideen noted that such incidents are intended to provoke a reaction from the Muslim community, but it remains resilient.
Video and social media comments
Two days before the incident, former mixed martial arts fighter Nick Patterson posted a Facebook video about the Warragul mosque. In the post, he wrote about the need to strengthen Christianity in Australia.
In the following days, hundreds of comments appeared under the post from people outraged that the mosque operates in a building that was formerly a Uniting Church church. However, that church congregation stopped holding services there in 2006. Some commenters suggested committing vandalism on the premises using pork products.
Copies of the video were also shared on TikTok and X. Patterson was approached for comment. Police urged people with information about the incident to contact Crime Stoppers.
