AMSTERDAM

Hagia Sophia Mosque in Amsterdam, the Netherlands was vandalized on Sunday night, according to the National Vision Federation. 

The windows of the mosque, which is affiliated with the federation, were broken with a beer bottle, the federation said in a statement. 

Highlighting the increasing incidents of hate speech and racist attacks in the country, it said the mosque was attacked for the second time since late last year.

In December 2020, a masked assailant threw rocks at windows of the mosque shortly after the evening prayers and escaped under the cover of darkness. 

The statement called on security forces and the country's administration to oppose such racist attacks without discrimination and to take the necessary precautions. 

"We expect security forces and politicians to take deterrent measures against such attacks,” Gazi Cirik, chairman of the board of the Hagia Sophia Mosque Foundation, told Anadolu Agency. 

Noting that they shared footage of the latest attack with the police, Cirik said they will feel safe as a community once the attacker is caught. 

*Writing by Gozde Bayar