Vandals deface Sterling Heights house of worship with graffiti targeting Muslims

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) - A new house of worship for the Sikh community in Sterling Heights has been defaced with a hateful message of graffiti.

The spray painting on the outside of the building currently under construction was discovered over the weekend.

The graffiti references Muhammad, the last prophet of Islam, but his name and other words are misspelled.

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) has called for a hate crime investigation for the act of vandalism.

"We condemn the vandalism of the Sikh house of worship in Sterling Heights and call on local and federal law enforcement to use their full resources to apprehend the perpetrators of this hate crime," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.

The Sikh Society of Michigan has practiced in Madison Heights since 1979.  The new, larger house of worship (Gurdwara) will serve 225 families.  It is scheduled to open this summer.

Sterling Heights police are investigating the vandalism. Evidence technicians have already visited the construction site on Dequindre Road.