Pig's head left outside Quebec City mosque with 'bon apptit' note - Action News
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Montreal

Pig's head left outside Quebec City mosque with 'bon apptit' note

In the middle of Ramadan, a regular at a Quebec City mosque finished a prayer in the early hours of Sunday only to find a pigs head at the doorstep as he was leaving.

Islamic cultural centre of Quebec City was also target of xenophobic messages, vandalism in 2014

The pig's head was found by a regular at the Quebec City mosque around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. (Radio-Canada)

In the middle of the Muslim holy month ofRamadan, a regular at a Quebec City mosque finished a prayer in the early hours of Sunday only to find a pig's head at the doorstep as he was leaving.

The package, foundin front of one of the doors of the Islamic cultural centre of Quebec City around 2:30 a.m., was accompanied by a note: "Bon apptit."

A well-known restriction in the Islamic faith, the consumption of pork is prohibited in the Qur'an.

"It is a waste of time, money and energy. We have high-definition cameras. We will certainly find the person who did this," said the president of the centre, Mohamed Yangui.

Mohamed Yangui, the president of the centre, says the four mosques in Quebec City area are vandalised about once a year. (Radio-Canada)

"We love everyone. We have no problem with anyone and we respect people. We hope it's mutual.And we are always here to give the image of the good Muslim to all Quebecers," he said.

Yangui believes the act, while unfortunate, was isolated.

But though the centre has a good relationship with its neighbours, Yangui said the four mosques in the Quebec City area are vandalized oncea year on average.

In November2014, three of those mosques, including the one Yangui presides over, became the targets of xenophobic messages when a group plastered posters on their front doors that read "Islam hors de chez moi," or in English,"Islam out of my country."

We love everyone.We have no problem with anyone and we respect people. We hope it's mutual.- Mohamed Yangui, president of the Islamic cultural centre of Quebec City

On Sunday,Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal minister responsible for the Quebec City region, condemned the act.

At an open house at the multiethnic centre of Quebec City (CMQ), Duclos said there was work to do.

"Any form of intolerance, hatred and unjustified incomprehension has to be condemned. We must continue to promote inclusion and integration," he said.

Representatives of the four Quebec City mosques plan to meet soon to discuss the incident.

Quebec City police have opened an investigation into the matter.

With files from Radio-Canada's Pascale Lacombe