Turkish authorities condemn mosque attack in Germany

By Meltem Bulur

ANKARA

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry is calling on German authorities to bring suspected Neo-Nazis to justice for vandalizing a mosque in Gladbeck city.

“We await for the authorities of the city of Gladbeck to locate the perpetrators of the attack and conduct the necessary legal actions. Worse future incidents will be prevented by bringing the perpetrators to justice,” the ministry said Monday in a statement on its website.

It was followed by a statement from the Turkish Consul General of the city of Munster expressing concern over the recent rise in attacks on Turkish mosques by “racist and Islamophobic groups”.

A mosque in the northwestern city of Gladbeck was vandalized overnight, according to mosque officials.

The attackers wrote racist slogans and drew swastikas on the windows and walls of the mosque, which is run by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB).

The DITIB, a moderate Muslim organization founded by Turkish migrants in Germany, runs more than 900 mosques across the country.

Germany, a country of over 81 million people, has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France. Among the country’s nearly 4.7 million Muslims, 3 million are of Turkish origin.

In recent years, the country has seen growing Islamophobia and hatred of migrants triggered by propaganda from far-right and populist parties.