An African migrant was arrested under suspicion of vandalizing a Shinto shrine in Japan while proclaiming ‘the only god is Allah,’ according to reports.
The incident unfolded at around 9:30 a.m. on May 3 in Kobe City.
Surveillance footage shows an African male clad in yellow garb striding across the grounds at Mizuoka Hachiman Shrine before stopping to kick and smash items at an offertory box.
“Mamadou Balde (29), an unemployed citizen of the Republic of Gambia and living in Tarumi Ward, was arrested on suspicion of damaging property,” MBS News reports.
“Another security camera also showed him tearing off a bamboo tube from the chozuya, where he cleanses his hands, and slamming a wooden box on top of another offertory box.”
The Gambian was arrested a short time later.
外国人のイスラム教徒が神社で賽銭箱を蹴り竹筒を引きちぎる「神様はアッラーしかいない」 pic.twitter.com/XQ48CAfkRN
— 国士🇯🇵 (@Lu1vunH6iqICRY3) May 23, 2023
“It’s a shame, that’s all I can say,” the chief priest told MBS News.
“I heard that a woman who was praying at the time was told, ‘Don’t pray here because there is no god here, because there is only Allah, the god of Islam.”
When asked for comment, Balde asserted, “I have nothing to say because I was arrested illegally.”
It is unclear if Balde is facing charges at this time.
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