Pig head debacle reported to HRC

A fresh pigs head was found on a site of a Mosque in Queensburgh.Piture Zanele Zulu.26/07/2012

A fresh pigs head was found on a site of a Mosque in Queensburgh.Piture Zanele Zulu.26/07/2012

Published Aug 1, 2012

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Durban - The Queensburgh Islamic Society has lodged a formal complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) after a severed pig’s head and posters of pigs were placed at a mosque building site last week.

In the letter sent to the HRC on Tuesday, the society’s chairman, Iqbal Randeree, said the incident showed gross religious intolerance and was an insult to the Islamic faith.

Appealing to the commission to take necessary steps to deal with such behaviour, Randeree said it was unacceptable, especially since the demographics of Queensburgh had changed since 1994.

“All residents constitutionally have an equal right to practise their religion as they please.”

The gruesome discovery was made by construction workers at the mosque building site in the suburb. The culprits had scaled a 2m-high fence.

Randeree said the fact that this was done during the holy month of Ramadaan showed the incident had been carefully timed.

In the letter, Randeree said this was the third act of “intimidation” that had occurred on the site since the society was given the go-ahead to build the mosque.

The first was late last year when holes were dug for a geo-technical engineers report.

“Two pictures of pigs were placed on a heap of sand alongside the holes,” he said, adding that the second incident occurred a few days before the pig’s head was found at the site.

A man driving a green BMW car had stopped and asked the site foreman what was being built on the site.

“On hearing it was a mosque, he told the foreman that he would bomb the place,” said Randeree. “He then drove off at high speed before the registration number of the vehicle could be taken down.”

While Randeree had no suspects in mind, he said he knew some residents were not pleased with the mosque being constructed in the area.

He said that for a decade residents had tried to object to the construction of the first mosque in Queensburgh, but their appeals were overruled by the eThekwini Municipality and the Provincial Appeals Tribunal. - Daily News

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