Two arrest in connection with pig’s head incident at Chester mosque

Categories: Latest News
Wednesday October 29 2014
The Chester Chronicle reports on the arrest of two men following an Islamophobic incident in which a pig’s head was placed on a spike outside the Islamic Cultural Centre in Ellesmere Port.
A member of the public reported two men acting suspiciously outside the premises before midnight on 22 October. The police later confirmed finding a pig’s head outside the Islamic centre, which is currently under construction.
Two men, aged 41 and 33, have been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence. Both have been released on bail pending further inquiries.
As part of their investigation, the police visited local businesses and appealed to the local community for information in a bid to find out where the pig’s head came from.
The incident comes as a local Muslim group received planning permission from Cheshire West and Chester Council earlier this month to proceed with plans to convert the site into an Islamic community centre.
The application for the proposed mosque has faced significant opposition. A restraining order was imposed on a man who hung bunting at the site displaying swastikas, KKK slogans and a threat to burn down the proposed mosque while Muslims were inside it.
In addition, a Facebook page ‘Ban Ellesmere Port Mosque’ was set up aiming to “stop Muslims taking over Ellesmore Port”. While it received almost 600 likes, the paper observes the page vanished last week.