The faithful at three Moroccan mosques in Amsterdam are keeping guard over them at night. They are doing so because the houses of worship recently received threatening leaflets.
According to a spokesman, mosques across the country also received such leaflets. He couldn’t say if they were being guarded too. The leaflets contained statements such as “Wilders will deliver us from you”, according to the spokesman. He called these threats and similar recent incidents “very worrying”.
It is now more common for mosques to be the target of graffiti, threats or violence. An Islamic prayer house in Dordrecht was recently shot at. Earlier this year unknown persons attempted to set fire to a mosque in Groningen.
The National Police Agency (KLPD) recorded five such incidents in the first half of 2010. There were 16 last year and 32 in 2008. According to the spokesman for UMMAO [Organisation of Moroccan Mosques in Greater Amsterdam], mosques often do not report such events.
The series of recent incidents was the reason why the Association of Dutch Moroccans (SMN) and the Council of Moroccan Mosques in the Netherlands (RMMN) called for increased surveillance of mosques.
Via Islam in Europe