Greece: Mosque vandalized

KOMOTINI, Greece

A mosque in Greece’s Western Thrace region has been attacked by vandals, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.

The Yeni mosque in Komotini, a town of 50,000 people, including many Muslims, was attacked Friday night and the doors to the building were daubed with the words “Turks out”.

Local police were unavailable for comment Sunday.

According to the group Islamophobia Watch, Greece has seen a rise in attacks on Muslims and Jews in recent years, coinciding with the rise of the far-right Golden Dawn party, which entered parliament in 2012.

In April, a fire at Komotini’s largest mosque damaged the entrance and roof. Local media reported that arson was suspected.

In October last year, attackers placed a severed pig’s head outside an Islamic studies center in Athens and painted anti-Muslim slogans on the building.

Western Thrace has a significant Muslim community. It was a part of Ottoman Empire before coming under Bulgarian and then Greek control around the time of World War I.

KOMOTINI, Greece

A mosque in Greece’s Western Thrace region has been attacked by vandals, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.

The Yeni mosque in Komotini, a town of 50,000 people, including many Muslims, was attacked Friday night and the doors to the building were daubed with the words “Turks out”.

Local police were unavailable for comment Sunday.

In April, a fire at Komotini’s largest mosque damaged the entrance and roof. Local media reported that arson was suspected.

In October last year, attackers placed a severed pig’s head outside an Islamic studies center in Athens and painted anti-Muslim slogans on the building.

Western Thrace has a significant Muslim community. It was a part of Ottoman Empire before coming under Bulgarian and then Greek control around the time of World War I.