THIS STORY WAS UPDATED
The Oulu mosque was vandalized Tuesday for the ninth time since September 2017, according to Dr Abdul Mannan, who heads the Islamic Society of Northern Finland. The police said in a statement the attack took place at 5:10 am when a suspect smashed a window with a bike rack and threw a smoke grenade inside the premises. The fire department was called as well.
Dr Mannan said that the attacks against the mosque are becoming too common and he is hopeful that the perpetrator is caught.
In December the mosque was attacked a seventh and eighth time.
The suspect used a bike rack to smash the window at 5.10 am and threw a smoke grenade inside the premises. Source: Dr Abdul Amman.
The prayer matt damaged by the smoke grenade (left) with smashed glass lying over the floor and chair. Photo: Dr Abdul Mannan.
“We installed a new very good surveillance system that should [hopefully] help to identify and capture the culprit,” he said.
Dr Mannan makes no effort to hide his frustration.
“I have said many times that the media is not helping the situation but adding fuel to the fire,” he said. “The most recent attack against our mosque is an example of how hate speech encourages some to acts of violence.”
Dr Mannan said that it was unfair to blame Muslims for what happened in Oulu concerning the sexual assault cases.
“None of the suspects in custody are members of our congregation,” he said. “Muslims of Oulu are law-abiding and should not be the target of people’s anger and hate.”