The Portales Islamic Center in eastern New Mexico, United States, was vandalised five times between June 1 to June 23, local media reported.
Ahmed Benssouda, director of the mosque, said that the vandals broke into Islamic Center and allegedly ripped copies of the Quran, poured beer on its pages and urinated on carpets.
They also apparently punched holes in the walls, destroyed furniture, left rubbish and placed a framed painting of Jesus Christ on top of a pile of rubbish.
On June 23, vandals entered the mosque again and damaged the building’s air conditioning unit.
In a statement on June 30, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said.
“We condemn these attacks on a house of worship and stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Portales. Based on the actions of the vandals, we call on law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible biased motive for these crimes. Due to the repeated targeting of this mosque, we urge local police to step up their patrols in the area.”
As per the media reports, the police are investigating the incidents but so far have not classified the case as a hate crime.
“Our investigators are continuing to investigate this incident regardless of if it is or is not a hate crime,” Christopher Williams, police chief of Portales told KRQE.
These incidents come three months after fires broke out in two mosques in Minneapolis two days in a row.
