By Elin Joensson
STOCKHOLM, (AA): Police in Stockholm are investigating a Saturday attack on a mosque in which neo-Nazi and anti-Muslim slogans were daubed near the place of worship.
Swastikas and the text “kill Muslims” had been scribbled near the entrance of the mosque in the southwestern Stockholm suburb of Bredang, not far from the center of the Swedish capital.
A loud bang was also reported before 8 a.m. local time (0700GMT) from an adjacent gym during morning prayers. Firework residue was found at the building but no injuries were reported.
Police spokesperson Sven-Erik Olsson told Anadolu Agency there were no suspects yet.
“We’ve been to the mosque to take photos and we’ve reported this as a case of destruction of property and incitement to hatred,” he added.
“It [the mosque] is located on the second floor and someone had scribbled swastikas and ‘kill Muslims’ on all three walls at the entrance,” Olsson said.
“This is not something one would expect… It’s hard to understand what is going on in society, both internationally and in our own country. I don’t recognise Sweden anymore,” Mustafa Tumturk, a representative of Stockholm’s Muslim community and one of the founders of the mosque in 1985, told Swedish news agency, TT.
In October police suspected arson was behind a fire which damaged a Muslim prayer room in Malmo, southern Sweden.
An investigation by the Islamic Cooperation Council in Sweden last year revealed seven out of 10 mosques in the country had been attacked.
Radio Sweden put together a list in 2014 describing 13 incidents of mosque attacks across the nation that year.
There are between 350,000 to 500,000 Muslims in Sweden.
Additional reporting The Muslim News
[Map of Sweden by CIA/Public Domain]