Cartoons target Muslim population

Cartoons target Muslim population
By Kari Petrie • kpetrie@stcloudtimes.com • December 10, 2009

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Twitter Editor's note: A portion of this story has been updated to reflect more details about how authorities determine whether a hate crime may have occurred.




St. Cloud police are investigating anti-Islamic cartoons found Tuesday in at least two locations in the city.

The graphic, sexually explicit cartoons were posted on utility poles in the 10 block of Second Avenue Northeast and the 300 block of Fifth Avenue South, Sgt. Marty Sayre said.

The posters included hand-drawn and digitally-altered photos that are derogatory toward Muslims. They included depictions of the prophet Mohammed and a swastika, among other images.

Five pages of the images were posted on a pole in front of Mandeeq Shop, 123 East St. Germain St.

Shop manager Deko Farah called the images “awful” and said someone who doesn’t believe in God must have posted them.

Farah said she used to feel safe in the East Side neighborhood, but now the store closes earlier because of safety concerns.

“Right now we’re not feeling safe,” she said.

St. Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization Executive Director Mohamoud Mohamed said it appears the images were downloaded from the Internet. Some of them were written in multiple languages.

“It’s an insult to our religion,” he said.

Someone spent a lot of time downloading the images and putting them together, Mohamed said. Then that person spent time walking through Tuesday’s snow and cold to post them.

“It’s very scary,” he said.

Mohamed said the community needs to come together and say it will not tolerate such behavior from “a very few bad apples.”

“It’s unacceptable,” he said.

Sayre said police are investigating who posted the cartoons and are talking to local businesses and residents about whether they saw anything suspicious.

Sayre said the city attorney’s office will review the incident to determine whether a crime was committed. If a crime occurred, it can be investigated as a hate crime, he said.

Anyone with information or who found similar images elsewhere can contact police at 251-1200 or Crime Stoppers at 255-1301