Islamic elementary school in Netherlands attacked

An elementary school attended by Muslim children in the Netherlands was attacked during the semester break. As-Siddieq Islamic School was hit by eight rounds of bullets on the wall. The armed attack was noticed on the day the spring semester began. The police have been investigating the incident. One of the children who had been educated at school said that they had seen bullet holes in the building, saying, "Parents and teachers do not feel safe."

The increasing number of Islamophobic attacks of late and a rise of the extremist right in the Netherlands, previously known for its tolerant and liberal values, have evoked a sense of fear among its Muslim community. The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) in a 2015 report covered Islamophobia in Europe. The report stated that Holland in 2015 experienced some 279 religion-based discriminatory attacks, out of which 206 were carried out against Muslims, a significant increase from 150 in 2013.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported that there were some 117 attacks on mosques in the country between 2005 and 2010, more than any other country. It said that in 2011, only 290 discriminatory comments were detected on the internet however with the rise of social media that number has become uncountable.

The 28-country bloc EU has also been mostly unsuccessful in tackling the rapidly increasing Islamophobia across the continent with reports indicating attacks on Muslims and Islamic institutions have reached unprecedented numbers and to make matters worse, the far right groups have re-emerged in its politics, apparently attracting millions.