On Tuesday, the Dutch police will broadcast camera footage of an arson attack on a mosque in Drachten on “Opsporing Verzocht”, the Dutch version of Crimewatch.
On the night of Saturday February 10th, a person sprayed a flammable liquid onto a wall of the mosque on the Langedyk and then set it on fire. The suspect also broke one of the mosque’s windows.
Several Dutch Islamic organisations joined forces in response to the arson attack to focus attention on the growing number of anti-Muslim incidents occurring in the Netherlands.
Justice minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus condemned the attack in a letter to the Dutch parliament. Grapperhaus wrote that he was horrified by the incident and called violence and threats against Muslims and mosques as unacceptable.
Despite earlier publication of camera footage of the attacker, no arrests have yet been made. The police hope that airing the images on national television will spark renewed interest in the case and lead to tips about the identity of the arsonist.
