Thursday June 24, 05:24 PM
Pigs desecrate Muslim prayer hall
Vandals used pigs' heads impaled on stakes, animal blood and offal to desecrate a controversial Muslim prayer hall in Sydney, but its developer has vowed to finish the project.
Builders developing the hall at Annangrove in Sydney's north-west found the bloody mess when they arrived for work at 7am (AEST).
Developer Abbas Aly said pigs' blood had been smeared on walls and offal and other pig body parts were strewn across the floor of the hall, which is due to open in October.
Pigs' heads on stakes had been left outside the hall on Annangrove Road.
Pork and its related products are forbidden for Muslims under religious law.
Mr Aly said the attack had surprised the 40 Muslim families, mostly from the Indian sub-continent, who planned to use the hall.
"Everyone's mostly upset, it's a very un-Australian thing to happen," he said.
"But this won't put us off."
The small Muslim community fought last year to get approval to build the hall where an old house used to stand.
The battle followed complaints by some residents that it would impact on the rural-residential character of the area and cause social unrest and anti-social behaviour.
Baulkham Hills Council refused the development, but the NSW Land and Environment Court overturned the decision in July last year.
Mr Aly praised police for their help after the attack, saying officers helped builders clean up the mess.
"They don't want me to go inside because they don't want me to see it," he said.
Police said they had taken a number of items for forensic analysis and were talking to neighbours to see if anything was seen or heard in the area.
Hills Local Area Commander Superintendent Jim Hook said police would work with religious leaders to identify the vandals.
"Police will not tolerate attacks like this which are aimed to intimidate another section of the community," he said.
Mr Aly said the community had not been targeted with any vandalism or abuse in the past 12 months.
"That's what has surprised everyone, nothing's happened, everyone's going pretty well and getting along pretty nicely," he said.
"But I think this is just people wanting to create trouble, with nothing better to do."
Mr Aly said the attack would delay building work by two days, allowing for the clean-up and the police investigation.
He said that once it was complete, the building would comprise three rooms, including the main hall, which the community called a mehsil, an Indian word meaning small church or prayer hall.
The NSW Muslim Council said it was shocked to hear of the vandalism and would do all it could to help the community.




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