Report: Man Brings Dog Into St. Cloud Islamic Center

ST. CLOUD -- Members of the Islamic Community in St. Cloud are on edge after an incident last week.

The Minnesota Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is asking the police to look into an incident that happened on Friday at the Central Minnesota Islamic Center. A man entered the building with a large dog, wandered around inside the mosque and was seen by worshipers as he left. When leaving the mosque the man pulled hair from the dog and threw it on the floor.

St. Cloud Assistant Police Chief Jeff Oxton says the case is active and they are currently working on identifying the man, and why he chose to enter the mosque with the dog.

CAIR says in a news release that is often believed that taking a dog into a mosque is a way to desecrate the house of worship because of a false notion that Muslims hate dogs.