SWEDISH MASJID BOMBED WITH LOVE AFTER ATTACK

STOCKHOLM – In an outpouring support for the Muslim community in Sweden, hundreds gathered in Uppsala city on Friday, January 2, to show solidarity with Muslims after a series of mosque attacks.

“Each time there has been an attack, the same mosque has then received a kind of 'love bomb' where people have shown their support and sympathy,” Omar Mustafa, chairman of the Islamic Association in Sweden, told the Swedish news agency TT.

“A large part of the population is strongly against this type of attacks and tomorrow we will gather these good forces.”

Ahead of yesterday’s Friday prayer, Uppsala mosque was “lovebombed” with colorful paper hearts and messages of support that covered the building entrance.

The nice gesture from the society followed an earlier attack last Thursday on mosque when a man threw a burning object at the Muslims’ worshipping house.

Moreover, the main door of the mosque which was emblazoned with the slogan “Go home Muslim shit”.

Mosques in Sweden have been subject to growing number of attacks in recent months.

Thursday’s attack came just three days after a late night blaze at a mosque in Esloev in southern Sweden which police suspect as arson.

On Christmas day, five people were hurt in another fire at a mosque in Eskilstuna in central Sweden.

According to the anti-racism magazine Expo, there have been at least a dozen confirmed attacks on mosques in Sweden in the last year and a far larger number are believed to have gone unreported.

Muslims make up between 450,000 and 500,000 of Sweden’s nine million people, according to the US State Department report in 2011.

In 2013, around 300 hate crimes against Muslims were reported in Sweden.

Such incidents are on the rise according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande rådet).

Rallies

Condemning the anti-Muslim attacks, thousands participated in Friday's support rallies in the countries three largest cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.

Held under the slogan “Don’t Touch My Mosque”, Friday's protests were attended by several officials and Muslim community leaders.

“We have invited representatives from the civil Muslim society. Together we will work out a strategy. It will be about shedding light across the country,” Sweden’s Minister for Culture and Democracy Alice Bah Kuhnke addressed the rally, euronews reported.

“A strategy Sweden unfortunately hasn’t had. But now it’s the time.”

A similar approach was suggested by Ardalan Shekarabi, Sweden's minister for public administration.

“We’re seeing a wave of Islamophobic propaganda,” the politician told Radio Sweden.

“It’s obvious that we have to take a stand against Islamophobia and for the equal value of every person. All people, no matter what their faith, should feel safe in Sweden.”

Deploring the latest Islamophobic attack, Sweden’s Social Democrat Prime Minister Stefan Lofve announced that the government would “increase funding for securing places of worship”.

“In Sweden no one should have to be afraid when they practice their religion,” Lofve told the TT news agency.

Friday's “love bomb” was praised by the city's Muslim community who thanked supporters.

“I am very happy and grateful to all who have been here and have participated. It pleases me a lot,” said Taxi Driver Aladdin Abu.

It pleases me and my children when they came here and they just wanted to read all the slips of papers at the doors.”