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Muslim leader wants charges filed against man who rolled pig head into mosque

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Friday, July 21, 2006


LEWISTON, Me. (AP) – A Maine Muslim leader wants U.S. federal charges filed against a man who already faces state and local action for rolling a pig’s head into a mosque during a prayer session.





Abdi Sheikh, administrative head of the Lewiston Auburn Islamic Center, said it would be appropriate for the U.S. attorney to file a federal hate crime complaint against Brent Matthews.

“I think it will send a powerful message to Mr. Matthews and others who may want to do harm either to the Islamic community or any other community,” said Sheikh.

Worshippers at the Islamic Center are predominantly Somali immigrants.

Matthews, 33, was charged with desecration of a place of worship, a misdemeanour, for rolling a frozen pig’s head into the mosque while 26 men prayed on the night of July 3. Muslims are forbidden from eating pig and pork products.

On Thursday, Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe filed a civil lawsuit alleging Matthews was motivated by bias based on race, colour, ancestry, national origin and religion. The complaint seeks to have the court bar Matthews from having contact with the mosque or its members and order him to abide by the state’s anti-discrimination law.

Federal hate crime complaints in Maine are rare. U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby was out of her office Friday and not available for comment.

James Howaniec, Matthews’ lawyer, expressed frustration at the possibility of a third complaint.

“I’ve been doing this for over 20 years now and I’ve never seen three prosecutors’ offices attempting to get their hands on a misdemeanour charge like they have with this case,” Howaniec said.

Howaniec said his client lost his part-time job because of the fallout from the incident. He also has sought counselling, Howaniec said.

“He’s very discouraged by this,” Howaniec said.

Judge John McElwee loosened some of the earlier bail restrictions on Matthews, who is free on $200 bail.

Matthews is not allowed within a two-block area of the mosque or to have “inappropriate contact” with people he knows to be Somali. The judge also dropped a prior restriction barring Matthews from having alcohol.


Source: AP, July 21, 2006

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