Shock in Emileord: Mosque threatened with torn Quran and anti-Islam messages
The Yunus Emre Mosque in Emmeloord has been subjected to a series of threats and intimidation attempts over the past week, according to the Islam Foundation in the Netherlands (ISN). The mosque's imam received a threatening phone call, and in separate incidents, torn Qurans were found with anti-Islam messages and a dead bird at the mosque entrance.
The threats began last Monday when an unknown caller contacted the imam saying things like: "We will bring down the mosques while you are inside them," and "All Muslims out of the country," and "We don't want a mosque." The imam's children heard these alarming threats directed at their father.
On Friday, a dead bird was placed at the entrance of the mosque. Then, one of the mosque-goers discovered on Sunday bags containing torn Qurans accompanied by hate messages such as "Stop Islam" and "No mosque on our street" when he attended the morning prayer.
ISN confirmed that it does not want to exaggerate the description of these incidents, but it has filed a report with the police. The mosque stated that it does not know who is responsible for these attacks, yet it maintains good relations with the municipality and the local neighborhood.
This is the first time the mosque has faced such harassment since its establishment. The spokesperson for ISN said that the mosque's board is "shocked and disturbed" that such intimidation could happen in a peaceful place. He also urged politicians to realize that Muslims are increasingly feeling unsafe and called on them to reduce polarization and protect mosques and their communities.