Elham Asaad Buaras

Police in the Netherlands have arrested two men in connection with an attack on a mosque in the southeast. Nour Mosque in Heerlen was defaced with swastikas and hate speech and its windows were smashed with stones.

The attack, which occurred between 9 p.m. on February 5 and 4 a.m. on February 6, is the third of its kind on the mosque in three years. A police spokesperson confirmed,

“Two local men aged 29 and 38 were arrested in connection incident, one of those arrested is also suspected of a theft the previous day.” A board member said vandals drew swastikas on the mosque’s gate and signs.

They also wrote texts like “F**k Islam” and, translated from Dutch, “Get the hell out of my state,” “Cancer Islam,” “Netherlands First,” and “Enough is Enough.” The mosque official said he does not feel threatened or intimidated by the incident, which he dismissed as “unfortunately normal with today’s youth.”

“The police have been informed and are doing their job, they will investigate. The mayor also supports us,” the board member said. Mosque member Malika El Ghanfoud, who posted photos of the vandalism on Facebook, was scathing in her condemnation of the perpetrators, insisting they should be “ashamed.”

“He had no education at home. This is a home for all of us. The home where we all went as children and still go to relax,” she wrote.

“The doors are always open to everyone.”
Islam is the second largest religion in the Netherlands, after Christianity, and is according to 2021 estimates practised by 5% of the population.