Pig's head hung on mosque in Vienna ignites criticism

Amid intensified mosque attacks across Europe, a mosque in the 21st district of the Austrian capital of Vienna was vandalized on Thursday when a pig's nose and tripe were hung on the door, according to the Anadolu Agency. The imam of the Kocatepe mosque spoke to Anadolu Agency about the incident, condemning the act of vandalism as "unacceptable."

The head of the Turkish-Islamist Union in Vienna (ATIB), Fatih Karadaş, condemned the attack saying that "this is not an attack against Muslims but the whole of humanity. We, as Muslims, will preserve our calm and collective attitude."

There have been several incidents where women wearing head scarves have been insulted and attacked in Austria over the last five months. Following the growing fear posed by young Europeans travelling to Syria to fight for the Islamic State and al-Sham (ISIS), the attacks against the Muslim community have intensified. Mosques in Austria have become the targets of anti-Muslim sentiment. An Imam Hatip school, called Eyüp Sultan in Vienna that concentrates on religious education, was vandalized too. A pig's head was left in front of the school's door during Ramadan in early October. Another mosque called Eyüp Sultan, located in the town of Telfs, was again vandalized with graffiti.