Pflugerville Mosque Vandalized, Quran Torn

Worshippers going for a morning prayer at the Islamic Center of Pflugervilled found that the mosque had been the site of vandalism Monday.

The front door was covered in feces. Near the door, torn up pages of the Quran littered the ground, Faisal Naeem, a board member of the Mosque, told the Austin American-Statesman.

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The vandalism, which likely occurred Sunday night, follows terror attacks in Paris in which ISIS claimed responsibility for killing at least 129 people.

Once believing the Austin area to be safe and tolerant, Naeem told the Statesman that the vandalism has made Muslim-Americans fearful of blacklash for the attacks.

“We are meeting this evening to see what are our next steps,” Naeem said. “The idea of Austin being an oasis has been shattered for us. We’re the smallest of all the mosques in the Austin area. We thought we’d be the least attractive to anybody doing anything like this.”

Pflugerville law enforcement authorities are currently investigating the case, reported the paper.

The Austin Police Department, which had increased patrols over the weekend, sent out a statement Monday ”regarding world events.”

Here’s the full text of the statement:

“While the Austin Police Department does not speak publicly about the specifics of any tactical preparations, we are closely monitoring events around the globe as well as in our community and have increased our patrols around sensitive sites. We are receiving regular briefs from the Austin Regional Intelligence Center and our Federal partners. APD urges our diverse community to be vigilant and immediately report suspicious behavior or activity to law enforcement.”

[Photo courtesy of the Pflugerville Police Department]