Emmeloord mosque threatened with shredded Qurans, anti-Islam texts
The Yunus Emre Mosque in Emmeloord faced a series of threats and intimidation attempts over the past week, the Islamic Foundation of the Netherlands (ISN) reported. The mosque’s imam received a threatening phone call, and in separate incidents, shredded Qurans with anti-Islam texts and a dead bird were left at the mosque's entrance.
An anonymous caller threatened the imam over the phone last Monday. According to ISN, he said things like “we’ll collapse mosques with you in them,” “all Muslims out of the country”, and “we don’t want a mosque.”
On Friday, a dead bird was found on the mosque’s doorstep. And on Sunday, a mosque attendee found bags with shredded Qurans and hateful messages like “stop Islamization” and “no mosque on our street” when arriving for the morning prayer.
ISN said it doesn’t want to “exaggerate” these incidents, but did file a police report.
A spokesperson told NOS that the imam’s children heard the threats made to their father. The mosque has no idea who is behind the threats, the spokesperson said. The mosque has good relationships with the municipality and the neighborhood.
“This is the first time the mosque has experienced this since its founding,” the ISN spokesperson told the broadcaster. “The board is surprised and upset. They are unhappy that they could be harassed in this way in a peaceful place.”
The spokesperson urged politicians to realize that Muslims are feeling increasingly unsafe and that their words play a role in this. “In recent months, we have already warned about a worrying increase in threats and intimidation against mosques, and we have called on politicians to reduce polarization and protect Muslims and mosques.”
