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CRIME

Severed pig’s ear sent to Muslim organisation

A package with a severed pig’s ear was delivered to a Muslim organisation in Cologne on Wednesday by unknown perpetrators, the group’s leader said.

Severed pig's ear sent to Muslim organisation
Photo: DPA

The gruesome delivery was accompanied by a note calling it a “precious relic of all Muslims” and a piece of the Prophet Muhammad, Ali Kizilkaya from the Islamic Council of Germany said.

Below this was the phrase, “Greetings from Michel Friedman – Jews in Germany,” likely in reference to the TV talk show host and former vice-president of the German Jewish Council. Both Muslim and Jewish religious customs consider pigs to be unclean animals and consumption of pork is forbidden.

Kizilkaya speculated whoever sent the package likely only wanted to “offend the Muslims” and start a row between them and Jews in Germany.

He said the Islamic Council had received an increasing amount of hate mail recently, but decided to involved the police following the incident.

Kizilkaya also accused “some politicians” were stoking prejudices against Muslims in the wake of Switzerland’s vote last month to ban the constructions of mosques with minarets.

“We Muslims and our mosques are a part of Germany,” he said.

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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