Another mosque in Germany was vandalized after unknown attackers painted the shape of a swastika on one of its doors on Wednesday, according to an official.
Turgut Ülker from the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) stated that similar attacks on mosques in Dortmund were carried out last month and these attacks, which have increased recently, worry them.
"We demand that the authorities take urgent action and protect our places of worship. We will continue our fight against racism in Dortmund together with all democratic institutions. We will continue to do our best to ensure that Dortmund remains a city of tolerance," he declared.
The police, who examined the mosque, covered the swastika with spray paint.
Germany has experienced a rise in racism and anti-Muslim hatred in recent years. Germany is home to 81 million people and hosts the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France. Of the country’s nearly 4.7 million Muslims, at least 3 million are of Turkish descent.
The Turkish community in Europe is concerned with the rising trend of Islamophobia and Turkophobia in Western countries and has called on European states to escalate measures against hate crimes.
Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have frequently urged European decision-makers and politicians to take a stance against racism and other types of discrimination that have threatened the lives of millions of people living within the bloc’s borders. However, as with this recent incident, the Islamophobic attacks on people and on places of worship continue.
