Muslims under fire in Netherlands

After the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh on November 2, 2004, the organized and unorganized extreme Right took their chance and attacked mosques, Islamic schools and immigrant organizations with bombs, Molotov cocktails, stones and paint. The police counted 96 “incidents” against Islamic targets.

Tuesday, November 2. An anonymous person calls the magazine “Amsterdams Stadsblad” and announces that he will, together with a group of Dutch people, “attack the Arabs. We will not let them slaughter us anymore.”

Thursday, November 4. A mosque in Veghel was smeared with slogans like “Holland our country”, “WP” and swastikas. “WP” means “White Power”.

Thursday, November 4. Opposite a Pakistani mosque in Amsterdam people find a chopped off pig’s head.

Friday, November 5. Around this date the chairs on the terrace of a Moroccan restaurant in Leeuwarden are destroyed. It remains unclear who did this, but to be safe the owner removes the sign “Moroccan” from his facade.

Friday, November 5. In a mosque in Utrecht there’s a fire. It was unclear who lit it.

Friday, November 5. A 21 year old man throws a Molotov cocktail against a mosque in IJsselstein. Visitors of the mosque extinguish the fires.

Friday, November 5. The chairman of the Right populist party LPF (List Pim Fortuyn) faxes a letter to his own party office, threatening member of parliament Mat Herben and himself. He signs it with the name of an Islamic group, in order to give Muslims a bad name. The police find out and arrest him.

Saturday, November 6. In Huizen three people are arrested who planned to set fire to a mosque. They carried a rucksack with turpentine, oil, methylated spirit and paper.

Saturday, November 6. This weekend unknown people threw a Molotov cocktail into a mosque in Groningen. Another mosque in town is smeared with racist slogans.

Saturday, November 6. The doors of a mosque in Noordwijk are destroyed.

Sunday, November 7. In Breda anonymous people set fire to isolation material behind a mosque. The fire expires quickly.

Sunday, November 7. In Rotterdam a wooden pallet is put against the entrance of a mosque and is set on fire. The door gets damaged.

Sunday, November 7. Pamphlets with pictures and texts offending Muslims are stuck to a mosque in Rotterdam.

Sunday, November 7. The office of the organization Euro-Mediterraan Centrum Migratie en Ontwikkeling (EMCEMO) in Amsterdam gets smeared with red paint during this weekend. In this office many Moroccan organizations meet, including the Amsterdam Moroccan Town Council.

Monday, November 8. Around this date in ’s-Heerenberg the car of an man from Iraq is scratched with slogans like “fucking Muslims”.

Monday, November 8. In front of an Islamic school in Eindhoven a bomb explodes which severely damages the entrance and a lot of windows in the neighborhood. The school had been under attack before. On July 15, 2003, Molotov cocktails were thrown in, and on July 15, 2004, a window was destroyed and burning papers thrown in.

Tuesday, November 9. An Islamic school in Uden is set on fire. The building completely burns down. On the walls slogans are smeared like “Theo R.I.P.”, and a Celtic cross is painted together with the letters “WP”.

Tuesday, November 9. A bag with shit is thrown right through the window at the Moroccan consulate in Rotterdam.

Tuesday, November 9. A mosque in Arnhem is continuously guarded after the delivery of an anonymous threatening letter.

Wednesday, November 10. A mosque in Heerenveen is set on fire. Two fires are extinguished by the police. A 25 year old man confesses to be the arsonist. The police discover Right extremist material in his house, like posters and flags.

Wednesday, November 10. In Den Bosch posters with racist and anti-Islamic texts are put up on the walls.

Wednesday, November 10. There’s a false bomb alarm near a mosque in Heerlen.

Wednesday, November 10. The police receive a bomb alarm for a mosque in Appingedam. The 20 visitors have to leave the building, but it turns out to be a false alarm.

Wednesday, November 10. During the siege of the house of two “autochthonous” Muslim fundamentalists in The Hague, skinheads and supporters of the football club ADO Den Haag attack Moroccan youth. Both sides get hit.

Thursday, November 11. In Venray two men are arrested for planning to set fire to a local mosque. Two others are arrested later.

Thursday, November 11. The mosque and town hall in Veendam are smeared with racist slogans, swastikas and Celtic crosses.

Friday, November 12. A bin next to a mosque in Eden is on fire. The wall of the mosque gets black and a window is destroyed.

Saturday, November 13. A mosque in Helden is set on fire. Nothing remains of the building.

Saturday, November 13. Anonymous people try to set fire to a mosque in Lelystad.

Saturday, November 13. A Turkish mosque in Maassluis is set on fire. The fire remains outside and a window is destroyed.

Sunday, November 14. The police in Hoogkarspel removes dozens of pamphlets with texts like “How many still have to come, how many still have to go?”, “Get up, join in” and “Mohammed pedophile”. The pamphlets are signed by the unknown “Westfries Legioen”. On other locations in West-Friesland these pamphlets are also found.

Sunday, November 14. Two men are arrested this weekend. They planned to set fire to a mosque in Gorinchem.

Sunday, November 14. This weekend discriminating slogans like “Muslims get out of here” are smeared on Turkish and Moroccan shops in Alkmaar. The windows of a Jewish lunchroom are smashed.

Sunday, November 14. A 16 year old boy is arrested for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a Turkish community center in Alkmaar. The fire was extinguished quickly, but the window-frames were already burned.

Monday, November 15. The police receive a bomb alarm for the mosque in the Beverwijk Bazar. The bomb squat searches the place, but finds nothing.

Friday, November 19. Four men from Almere are arrested for arson and smashing windows of the local Islamic school. The police discovered the fire in time.

Sunday, November 21. The Turkish mosque in Maassluis is under attack again. This time, two men throw a Molotov cocktail that lands right next to it. The damage remains small.

Sunday, November 21. Three windows of a mosque in Heerenveen are smashed.

Monday, November 22. A Molotov cocktail is thrown at a mosque in The Hague. A window gets broken and the window-frames and outside walls of the mosques get black.

Friday, November 26. In West-Friesland posters are discovered again with texts like “Mohammed is a pedophile”.

Sunday, November 28. Anonymous people smear the mosque in Emmen with slogans like “fucking Turks” and “fucking blacks”. Swastikas are also painted.

De Fabel van de illegaal 68, January/February 2005