This roadside statue of Jesus on the cross has had its face smashed and right arm broken off
ishtartv.com - heatst.com
By
Lukas Mikelionis, 15, 2016
Fifty
statues of Christ and other Christian figures have been defaced and smashed
apart in a crime wave sweeping parts of Germany.
Statues
in the Münster region in the west of Germany have been targeted over a series
of months – including one of Jesus which had its head lopped off, and many more
missing limbs or other fragments.
Police
in the area say they suspect a “religious background” to the crimes, but have
yet to name any suspects.
The
series of attacks on Christian imagery was brought to light in a report by a
division of the state broadcaster WDR.
Their
news show, Lokalzeit Münsterland, reported the crime wave on
their 8 December edition, and also on social media:
Mirko
Stein of the Münster police told the channel: “large numbers of the people
in the neighborhood where the sculptures are shocked and scared”.
“Based
on the intensity of the acts of the perpetrator, one can already conclude that
this act has a religious background.”
German
criminologist Christian Pfeifer believes crimes were committed by someone
who is “angry” and “hates the Church”.
Similar
crimes against Christian artifacts in the area have been recorded as well.
According
to the German tabloid Bild, 40
sculptures had been attacked in the two years preceding the current crime wave.
Police
were investigating six men with alleged links to Islamic extremists, but gave
up after three left for Syria, one died and the other two dropped off the
radar.
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