A mosque in northern Belgium was vandalized with swastikas, hate messages and dog feces.
The vandalism at the Tawfieq mosque in Schelle, in Belgium’s Antwerp province, was discovered by members of the mosque’s board on Friday morning, Anadolu Agency reported.
Swastikas and hate messages had been painted on the mosque’s doors and windows, while dog feces had been scattered in front of the entrance.
“We were extremely shocked when we discovered the message, the swastikas and dog feces at our center,” the mosque board said.
Officials photographed the damage before cleaning the building ahead of Friday prayers. They also filed a complaint with police against the perpetrators, who remain unidentified.
The local Rupel police confirmed the incident and said authorities were treating it seriously. An investigation has been launched to identify those responsible for the vandalism.
Muslim Rights Watch Belgium described the incident as “Muslim hatred in its purest form.”
“This is not an isolated case of vandalism or an act of ‘troublemaking,’ but a disgusting and explicit expression of Muslim hatred,” the organization’s chairman, Mohamed Amin Chaib, said in the report.
The organization said it would also file a complaint over the incident and called on authorities to increase security measures around mosques.