Crude cartoons intended to offend Muslims in St. Cloud were found posted on utility poles this week.
The cartoons, reminiscent of those published in a Danish newspaper in 2005, “are clearly offensive to the Muslim community here, inappropriate and not wanted in our community,” said police Sgt. Marty Sayre.
Five pages of cartoons, posted on a pair of utility poles, depict the prophet Mohammed in derogatory ways, the Qur’an and a swastika.
“We’ve had swastikas before, but I believe this is the first time we’ve seen” images specifically targeting Muslims, Sayre said.
One of the posts was stapled to a pole outside the Mandeeq Shop, a discount store named in honor of the native name for Somalia.
Shop manager Deko Farah called the images “awful.” “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.
The city attorney’s office is investigating whether the cartoons violate any criminal statutes and if it is determined they do, the case could be treated as a bias crime, Sayre said.