hankyoreh

A committee opposed to the construction of a mosque in Daegu announced on April 25 that they would be raising two miniature pigs outside the construction site. (courtesy of a resident of the Daehyeon neighborhood)

Two live miniature pigs have popped up in front of a construction site where a mosque is being built near the western entrance to Kyungpook National University, in Daegu.

“People living near the mosque have decided to raise two pigs. We’re raising pigs the way other people keep dogs or cats at home,” said a committee of residents of the Daehyeon neighborhood of Daegu on Tuesday. The committee was formed to oppose the construction of the mosque.

In Islam, pigs are considered unclean.

The residents’ committee bought two miniature pigs for 300,000 won each. Just a few months old, the piglets have been named “Daehan” and “Minguk” — together, the names mean “Republic of Korea.”

A 53-year-old resident of the Daehyeon neighborhood surnamed Kim has agreed to look after the pigs.

“We named them that because we’re trying to protect our country,” Kim told the Hankyoreh Monday.

“Mini pigs have to be taken for a walk every day, just like a puppy. I’ll be walking them through the alley in front of the mosque every day and will also take them to our rallies.”

That includes a rally scheduled to be held in front of the Buk District Office this Friday.

An industrial refrigerator with three pig heads in it and a mask of a pig head sit outside the construction site for a mosque in Daegu’s Daehyeon neighborhood on April 25. (Kim Gyu-hyeon/The Hankyoreh)

Residents who oppose the mosque’s construction have been ramping up their protests as the completion date nears.

“The mosque’s construction appears to be a foregone conclusion now,” residents’ committee co-chair Seo Jae-won told the Hankyoreh in an interview.

“Once the mosque is completed, we’ll have no choice but to increase the level of our opposition. We will do whatever residents have the power to do within the scope of the law,” he added.

Around noon on Monday, Gwon Yo-han, who chairs the steering committee for the Ethical Human Rights Forum, held a one-person protest in front of the construction site with a sign reading, “The construction of an Islamic mosque in the Daehyeon residential area is not simply a matter of religion but a violation of sovereignty.”

During his protest, he stopped Muslim students and motioned for them to look at his sign as they were leaving after praying at a temporary prayer area in front of the construction site.

Ahead of the placement of concrete for the mosque, opposed residents brought an industrial refrigerator with three pig heads inside onto the site on April 17. They have also shown off masks in the shape of pig heads.

With the weather growing warmer and the pig heads’ decomposition causing severe odor issues, the residents have now resorted to other means.

Two residents who placed pig heads in front of the construction site were indicted on charges of obstruction of operations and received a summary order to pay 50,000 won (US$37) in fines.

The mosque’s construction has currently entered its final stages, with a completion date reportedly to come as early as the first half of this year.

By Kim Gyu-hyun, staff reporter

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