Vigil held to support Minnesota mosque where bacon was found

ROCHESTER, Minn. – People have gathered for a vigil to support a Minnesota mosque after officials found bacon left near the front door and in its parking lot, an act one group called “attempted religious desecration.”

The Post Bulletin in Rochester reports that the incident at the Masjed Abubakr Al-Seddiq Islamic Center on Saturday has prompted a police investigation. Nearly 80 people turned out early Sunday for the vigil.

Minnesota’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has called on authorities to investigate the “attempted religious desecration” of the mosque as a possible hate crime. Muslims are barred from eating pork products.

Dee Sabol, executive director of the Diversity Council in Rochester, says the vigil was a stronger reaction than the action that spurred it.