NEW YORK, July 5: A group of Muslim men praying at a Lewiston (Maine) mosque were shocked on Monday night when somebody threw a severed pig’s head into the mosque while they stood to pray.

Police arrested a man on Tuesday who said he thought it was a joke. Lewiston is home to some 2,500 Somali Muslim refugees.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Wednesday called for stepped up outreach efforts by the Muslim community in Maine.

“Americans should be able to offer prayers in their houses of worship without fear of attack or intimidation,” said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.

“We urge Muslims in Maine to increase their outreach efforts to educate people of other faiths about Islam.”

He said CAIR’s research shows that anti-Muslim prejudice decreases when people get to know ordinary Muslims and when they have access to accurate information about Islam.