Bacon thrown at Victorian mosque in act condemned by Muslim leaders

Police investigate after pork products thrown at Gippsland's Warragul Mosque In short: A man has been captured on security footage throwing pork products at a mosque in regional Victoria earlier this week. Islamic leaders have labelled the incident an attempt to offend and intimidate the region's growing Muslim community but said it would not succeed. What's next? Police are investigating the incident. A Muslim community is saddened after a man was filmed throwing bacon and ham at a mosque in regional Victoria on Wednesday afternoon. Security footage of the incident shows a man in a grey tracksuit throwing bacon near the entrance of the mosque in Warragul. The incident, which community leaders have described as hateful, happened days after a Victorian social media influencer who advocates for the defence of Christianity in Australia posted a video of the mosque, which opened last year. "The greatest way to defend against any conquest is to make our Christianity strong again," the social media post from Nick Patterson read. "Hyenas will always attack when they sense weakness. We need to become lions again." Pig products are regularly used in Islamophobic attacks because the consumption of pork is forbidden in Islam. The Warragul Mosque described the attack as an attempt to "offend, intimidate, and divide". "It will not succeed," it said in a statement. The mosque opened last year after the previous Uniting Church congregation moved to a new, larger location two decades ago. It was promoted as an open and inclusive space that would also provide a place of prayer and gathering for the region's growing Muslim community. Mansoor Shamsi, vice president of the Warragul Mosque Committee, said the mosque had been targeted with graffiti and vandalism before. "Unfortunately, [I'm] not shocked or surprised," he said. "We're caught between not wanting to give oxygen to something, which shouldn't get any attention because it comes from a place of ignorance, hate, fear. "At the same time, we also feel a responsibility to call it out." Victoria Police said it was investigating the incident. Incidents trying to incite reaction: Muslim leader The president of the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV), Mohamed Mohideen, said the issue was hurtful to the wider Muslim community and reflected a concern about increasing Islamophobia. "We are not here to take over churches," he said. "We are not here to take over people's faith or undermine other people's faith." In July, the ICV filed a report with police after Islamic graves in Maddingley General Cemetery were targeted with stickers featuring pigs. Mr Mohideen said such incidents were trying — and failing — to incite a reaction from the Muslim community. "The community is quite resilient," he said "The Muslim community have got used to attacks of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate." Mansoor Shamsi said the Warragul Mosque had received "overwhelming" support from the broader community. "Whenever these things happen, there is an overwhelming amount of support," he said. Social media videos attract calls for mosque vandalism Two days before the September 9 incident at the mosque, former mixed martial arts fighter Nick Patterson posted a video of the Warragul Mosque to his Facebook page. Over the following days, his post attracted hundreds of comments from individuals outraged that the mosque was occupying the former Uniting Church site, even though the church had ceased worshipping there in 2006. Some comments suggested the site should be vandalised with pork products. Copies of Mr Patterson's video have also been shared on TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter, by other social media accounts. Mr Patterson was approached for comment. Victoria Police urged anyone with information about the incident to contact Crime Stoppers.