On Tuesday, an unidentified individual left a painting of a crucified Jesus outside the Hillside Islamic Center - a mosque located in Long Island, New York.
Surveillance footage - revealed following the incident - shows a man riding to the Islamic center on his bike before pulling a shopping cart with the painting.
Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan, the mosque's president, said he believes the man "wanted to provoke" members of the mosque, according to Mic.
"Had he had good intentions, he would have come to us," Bhuiyan added.
The police have been investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. However, if it revealed that the man intended to offend Muslims, he failed miserably. Why? Because Muslims revere Jesus, too.
Islam does not consider Jesus a deity nor the son of God, which are arguably the central tenets of Christianity. It does, however, hold Christ in very high esteem.
He is regarded as Prophet Muhammad's precursor and one of God's most prominent messengers.
In case you needed a little more on that, here are a few pointers revealing the >importance of Jesus in Islam.
Islam considers Jesus a Messiah
In the Quran, Jesus is referred to as "Essa al-Maseeh," Jesus the Messiah or the Savior. Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad came to complete Jesus' message, rather than refute it.
The Qur'an states that disrespecting Jesus is a sign of disbelief. In the Quran, God commands Muslims to regard Jesus as his messenger, as he holds the "Word of God".
"The Christ Jesus, son of Mary, was but God's Apostle - [the fulfilment of] His promise which He had conveyed unto Mary - and a soul created by Him. Believe, then, in God and His apostles." - An-Nisa (The Women) [4:171]
The Quran considers Jesus' birth a miracle
The Qur'an contains a chapter (soora) entitled 'Maryam' (Mary), which tells the story of Mary and the birth of her son, Jesus.
According to the Qur'an, Jesus was born without a father by the command of God. Virgin Mary gave birth under a palm tree.
Jesus is mentioned 25 times in the Qur'an, the Prophet Muhammad just 4
The name of the Prophet Muhammad appears in the Qur'an 4 times, while that of Jesus (Essa) appears 25 times. Jesus Christ is discussed directly and indirectly over 180 times.
According to the Quran, Jesus' miracles are unmatched by any other prophet
Muslims believe that some prophets were given a divine ability to perform miracles. Jesus' miracles are unmatched by any other prophet.
He is believed to be the only person in history to talk and give a sermon as a newborn. Among Jesus' abilities, according to the Qur'an, are curing the blind, resurrecting the dead and turning clay into a live bird.
Muslims believe in the second coming of Christ as well
Muslims believe Jesus was never crucified. Instead, a traitor (known as Judas Iscariot in Christian scriptures) was transformed to look like Jesus, as a divine punishment for betraying him.
Jesus’ enemies crucified Judas, thinking that he was Christ. According to Muslim tradition, Jesus ascended to heaven and will only ever return to earth near the Day of Judgment to restore justice and defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal ("the false messiah" known as the Antichrist).