Dutch mosque burns down ahead of Eid
November 13 2004 at 01:52PM
By Wendel Broere
iol.co.za
Amsterdam - A small mosque was destroyed by fire in the Netherlands on Saturday but no one was hurt in what police suspect may have been the latest in a spate of arson attacks against religious targets.
"We are seriously taking into account the possibility it was arson. We can only be sure after the investigation is complete," police spokesperson Judith Verbaan said of the blaze at Helden near the German border in the southern part of the country.
"The fire broke out at 6am (05h00 GMT) and was brought under control in about 10 minutes."
'Let us break through this spiral of violence and insecurity'
The Netherlands has seen an upsurge in violence since outspoken filmmaker Theo van Gogh was shot and stabbed by a suspected Islamic militant as he cycled to work on November 2, raising tensions in a country known for its tolerance.
There have been at least 20 arson attacks on mosques and churches since he was killed. Police said on Thursday they have arrested "several dozen" people in connection with the wave of arson attacks, bomb threats, letters containing suspicious powder and far-right vandalism since the murder.
The Helden mosque in the Limburg province, a converted outbuilding of a school and mainly made of wood, is unusable as most of it burnt down, Verbaan said.
Van Gogh had enraged some Muslims with a film accusing Islam of promoting violence against women.
Police arrested two men in a raid in The Hague on Wednesday after a 14-hour standoff in which the suspects threw a grenade, wounding four officers.
They and four others, arrested in Amsterdam and Amersfoort, face charges of membership in a "terrorist" organisation. A seventh arrested man, from Amsterdam, is accused of involvement in Van Gogh's killing.
The two men arrested after the police siege in The Hague were plotting to assassinate outspoken Dutch politicians Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders, Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad said on Saturday, but prosecutors could not confirm the report.
Wilders, seen as an heir to murdered anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn, has received death threats for his criticism of Islam. He has said he wanted to launch a new rightwing party to clamp down on Muslim militants.
Hirsi Ali, a liberal member of parliament with whom Van Gogh made the controversial film Submission, went into hiding after a note pinned with a knife to Van Gogh's body contained a death threat against her. Police is protecting both politicians.
One arson attack on a Muslim school on Tuesday appeared to be retaliation for Van Gogh's killing with the words "Theo RIP" scrawled on the wall along with a "White Power" sign.
A little known Muslim group responded saying if the attacks were not stopped the Netherlands would "pay a heavy price".
Dutch Queen Beatrix met with Moroccan and Dutch students in Amsterdam on Friday and stressed the importance of equality of all those living in the Netherlands. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende urged tolerance and calm on all sides.
"Let us keep cool heads. Let us break through this spiral of violence and insecurity," he told Dutch television earlier this week. "This violence is unacceptable... The Netherlands has always been a fine country with respect for different cultures."
For most Muslims the Eid al-Fitr festival, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, started on Saturday
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