BRISBANE: School officials have described it as “hate crime” after a bag adorned with a swastika and containing a pig’s head was dumped at the front gate of one of Queensland’s largest Islamic schools.
Staff at the Islamic College of Brisbane discovered the bag and rotting meat early Wednesday morning, hours before more than 1,000 students were to pass through the school’s entrance.
Police responded after being notified, and school authorities provided CCTV footage of the incident, which allegedly showed two men in a Subaru WRX vehicle dropping the items. The car’s number plate was also captured in the video footage.
Acting college chairman Ali Kadri said it was the type of “hate crime” that sprang from the “demonization of [Islamic] schools”.
“Not talking about it just doesn’t help. It’s important to show that there is so much extremism out there that people will get up at six in the morning to do these kind of things,” said Kadri, who is also a spokesman for the Islamic Council of Queensland.
“It’s the normalization, the demonization of the schools that leads to these kind of problems. It’s people who demonize Islamic schools without knowing what goes on there.”
The Islamic College of Brisbane is among those schools owned by the Sydney-based Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.
“Queensland police’s response to this hate crime is phenomenal and we don’t believe there is any threat to safety of staff and kids,” Kadri posted on Facebook.
A Queensland Police spokesman, meanwhile said: “Investigations are underway into incident at an educational facility in Brisbane this morning.”
“Police were called to an Acacia Road, Karawatha address shortly before 9am following reports of a bag containing decaying meat being discovered by members of the facility inside the grounds. There is no further information and police are continuing their investigation.’’
A recent study, Islamophobia in Australia, have found a high incidence of Islamophobia in Queensland despite the relative small population of Muslims in that state.
The paper’s authors contextualized Islamophobia as a special form of racism that reveals “indiscriminate negative attitudes or emotions directed at Islam and Muslims.” An Islamophobic incident is any act comprising of abusive hatred, vilification and violence inflicted on Muslims going about their daily lives.
Rotting pig’s head dumped at Islamic school gate in Brisbane
Rotting pig’s head dumped at Islamic school gate in Brisbane
UK Police arrest 86 people at prison protest for Palestine Action hunger striker
- Demonstration outside Wormwood Scrubs held in support of Umer Khalid
- Khalid 1 of 5 people charged in connection with break-in at RAF base last year
LONDON: A protest outside a prison in the UK in support of a man detained for supporting the banned group Palestine Action has led to the arrest of 86 people.
London’s Metropolitan Police said a group of demonstrators breached the grounds of Wormwood Scrubs prison in the capital, refused to leave when ordered to do so, and threatened officers. They were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.
The group, several of whom attempted to gain access to the prison itself, were protesting in support of Umer Khalid, who is currently on hunger strike at the facility.
Khalid is one of five people charged in relation to a break-in by Palestine Action members at an RAF base at Brize Norton last year, in which two military aircraft were damaged.
Khalid, who denies the charges, is one of several people who are on or who have taken part in hunger strikes in recent months, all of whom have been held on similar charges for over a year without their cases being brought to trial.
A spokesperson for the UK’s Ministry of Justice said: “The escalation of the protest at HMP Wormwood Scrubs is completely unacceptable. While we support the right to peacefully protest, reports of trespassing and threats being made to staff and police officers are deeply concerning.
“At no point was prison security compromised. However, where individuals’ actions cause risk or actual harm to hardworking staff, this will not be taken lightly and those responsible can expect to face consequences.
“Prisoners are being managed in line with longstanding policy. This includes regular checks by medical professionals, heart monitoring and blood tests, and support to help them eat and drink again. If deemed appropriate by healthcare teams, prisoners will be taken to hospital.”
