Lithuanian mufti calls on government to protect Muslims after bikers disrupt mosque prayers
After a group of bikers disrupted Friday prayers at a Kaunas mosque by bringing a pig's head and chanting nationalistic slogans, Lithuania's Muslim community leader Mufti Aleksandras Beganskas is urging the government to ensure the community's safety.
Lithuania's Muslim community leader, Mufti Aleksandras Beganskas, has called on state authorities to take action to guarantee the safety of Muslims following an incident in Kaunas, where a group of bikers disturbed Friday prayers at a mosque in Ramybės Park.
The bikers gathered outside the mosque around noon on Friday while prayers were taking place inside. They played loud music, revved their motorcycle engines, chanted nationalistic slogans, and displayed a pig's head they had brought with them.
Call for stronger security measures
Speaking to LRT RADIO on Monday, the mufti said he wants to meet with government representatives to discuss what security measures should follow Friday's incident. One option raised was fencing off the mosque in Ramybės Park to prevent similar events in the future. Beganskas also called for legislation to be adopted quickly to prevent incitement of hatred based on race, nationality or religion, warning that without such measures, today's rallies could turn into fights and eventually killings.
Community remained calm
The mufti praised members of the Muslim community for their composure during the confrontation, saying no one gave in to the provocations and everyone finished their prayers peacefully before heading home or to work. He noted that some Muslim women felt uncomfortable and unsafe after a man shouted and cursed at them during the prayers.
Beganskas stressed that the Muslim community was already doing its part to maintain peaceful relations, and that it is now the government's responsibility to protect Muslims living in Lithuania, adding that Islam and Muslims are part of the country.
He also called for an internal investigation into whether the police officers who responded to the incident fulfilled their duty to ensure public safety.
A spokeswoman for Kaunas County Police, Odeta Vaitkevičienė, confirmed that administrative proceedings had been opened over alleged violations of rules governing public assemblies, and that a separate investigation was launched under a Criminal Code provision on incitement of hatred against a group of people.
