Bacon left at Las Vegas mosque prompts hate crime investigation

Authorities in Las Vegas are searching for a man they say committed a hate crime against a mosque.

Local NBC stationKSNV reported that “raw bacon” was found on the doors of the Masjid-e-Tawheed, a mosque in Clark County. “Surveillance video shows worshipers finding the pork Sunday just before their early morning prayer,” KSNV added.

RELATED: Philly mosque ‘overwhelmed’ with support after pig head incident

Authorities in Nevada confirmed to Nicolás Medina Mora of BuzzFeed News that the incident was currently being investigated as a hate crime.

ABC affiliateKTNVreported that the FBI was now involved with the investigation.

A member of the mosque explained his perspective on the pork’s symbolism.

RELATED: Severed pig’s head found at Philly mosque

“The pork, the bacon,” Ismaeel Almughrabe told KSNV, “it’s forbidden, which is haram in Islam, to eat it or touch it.”

The news out of Nevada recalls a similar incident that occurred in Philadelphia in December, where local Muslims found a severed pig’s head at a mosque. After that incident, theAl-Aqsa Islamic Society of Philadelphia quickly received “non-stop cakes, candies, flowers and letters of support” from their neighbors.

The mosque, together with neighbors in Philadelphia,also hosted a community barbecue — in support of religious freedom and diversity.