"This is a Muslim area" smeared on Evangelical Church
A radical muslim graffiti was spray-painted on the windows of Southchurch Christian Fellowship Centre on Saturday night, March 16. The graffiti, which read "This is a Muslim area", is now being investigated by Essex Police as racially aggravated criminal damage. Ms Champion, who discovered the vandalism, said: "To see someone committing such hateful behaviour is so heartbreaking. It makes me very angry. A colleague and I went to the church to remove the worst of it because we didn't want people to feel intimidated when they came to the Sunday service the next morning."
Ms Champion added that the Christian Fellowship Centre does "so much" for the wider community. She said: "These guys work their socks off to do fantastic things for people in our community, regardless of their race or religion. It will cost them time and money to remove this graffiti which they don't have."
Project Southchurch founder Rob McAvoy described the vandalism as "absolutely appalling" and is reaching out to the Muslim community to "reassure them that we are together".
James Courtenay, the council's executive member for community safety and public protection, said: "It is vital that people tell us when these incidents happen so we can investigate, as hate crime can have a devastating impact on victims and the local community. No one should have to live in fear of abuse or harassment and we are working closely with our partners to ensure this is the case".
Source: Echo News