By Atila Altuntas

STOCKHOLM (AA): A mosque in Stockholm was vandalised with racist words and symbols on Thursday, according to mosque officials.

In a statement, the Södermalm mosque management said a big swastika symbol was spray painted at the mosque’s door.

The management strongly condemned the incident, saying the mosque had been facing such racist attacks for years.

“Our mosque members and our community are extremely disturbed by such attacks. Unfortunately, despite many racist attacks, the government could not do anything against Islamophobia and hate speech,” it said.

The mosque’s imam, Mahmoud Khalfi, said that the vandalism was extensive.

“It was on the entire facade, including the back and along the stairs to the subway,” Khalfi told SVT.

“Yet again, Stockholm Mosque has been vandalised,” the Facebook post read. “Here is what visitors were greeted with this morning.”

Khalfi told SVT that the mosque has repeatedly requested permission to instal security cameras but that the request has been denied over privacy concerns. He said he is willing to work with authorities to find a solution.

“We are flexible, we will accept all of the demands to limit privacy intrusions,” he said.

According to the Swedish state television SVT, 22 racist attacks were registered on the Stockholm mosque in 2017 while another 23 attacks were registered since the beginning of 2018.

Additional report by The Muslim News

[Photo: Racist words and Nazi swastikas graffiti on Sodermalm Mosque in Stockholm Photo by AA]