A mosque was attacked in the southeast Swedish town of Eskilstuna Thursday night just hours after another mosque in the same town came under arson attack, a Swedish newspaper reported.
Police said an unidentified man crushed a window of a mosque Thursday night only a few meters away from where the first mosque was attacked by arson, Swedish daily Aftonbladet said.
Police said it was still unclear if both cases were connected.
In the first incident, five people were injured when an arsonist set a mosque on fire in Eskilstuna. Swedish Security Service launched an investigation into the arson attack.
Expo, a Swedish foundation raising awareness on racism and xenophobia, said at least 12 attacks took place on mosques across Sweden this year.
This means that there was at least one attack per month on a mosque across Sweden from January to December this year, according to Expo’s figures.
The arson attack on the mosque occurred on Christmas Day in the backdrop of a tense debate in Sweden on immigration and support for a far-right political party, the Sweden Democrats.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Europe should cleanse itself from Islamophobia and racism within its own borders before trying to give Turkey democracy lessons.
“We are not a country that deserves scolding from Europe,” Erdogan said during a speech at a symposium by the Confederation of Public Servants’ Trade Unions in Ankara.
“We are not Europe’s scapegoat. The days of old Turkey are over,” he said.
Source: World Bulletin
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