PAS urges thorough probe in mosque defilement incident

Feb 1: Paying a visit to the Nurul Iman mosque in Rawang where the head of a pig was left at its doorstep early yesterday, Selangor PAS leaders said the act was a deliberate attempt at provocation.

Led by Selangor PAS deputy commissioner Khalid Samad and Selayang PAS chairman Zaidi Talib, a PAS delegation met with chairman of the mosque Akhbar Harun.

This followed Khalid's meeting with the Gombak district police station to be briefed about the investigation into the incident.

“I urge the police to carry out a thorough investigation and identify the culprit behind this despicable act and take the necessary action,” Khalid told Harakahdaily.

The carcass was discovered at 5.30am yesterday (pic) when the mosque was being opened for the dawn prayer.

According to the police, the case was being classified under Section 295 of the Penal Code, which deals with defilement of places of worship intended to insult the religion.

Religious tensions

PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man meanwhile said the case if not properly handled could create unnecessary religious tensions.

“This act should not have happened because it can threaten public security if it is not properly handled,” he said.

This is not the first time the carcass of a pig, considered impure by Muslims, is found at a mosque vicinity. On December 29, two plastic bags containing four pig heads were found outside the compound of Al-Falah Mosque in Johor Bahru. The following day, five pig heads were placed at the mosque's entrance. Although four individuals including a teenager had been arrested, no charges were filed thus far.

The defilement of mosques followed several acts of vandalisation of churches, during the peak of the controversy surrounding the usage of ‘Allah’ by the Christians.

DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng urged Malaysians to remain calm and not to play into the hands of those sowing tensions.

“However, the perpetrators will fail to achieve their evil goals because Malaysians have learnt not only to live with but to celebrate the cultural and religious differences in our society.
"We will not let decades of peace be undone by the cowardly actions of extremists and bigots,” he said in a statement made available to Harakahdaily.