An arsonist set fire to a mosque in central Sweden on Thursday
injuring five people, police said, as the country grapples with a political
crisis caused by the rise of the extreme right.
“Somebody threw an object through a closed window and
afterwards a fire started inside,” police spokesman Lars Franzell told AFP.
“There were between 15 and 20 people in the premises.”
Refugee-friendly Sweden woke up to the reality of a new
political landscape in early December when the anti-immigration Sweden
Democrats brought down the government by refusing to back its budget proposal
in parliament.
The mosque is located on the ground floor of a building in
the city of Eskilstuna, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) west of Stockholm.
According to police, the fire started in the early
afternoon.
Police said they were investigating the incident as a case
of aggravated arson but had no suspects yet.
The five injured were taken to hospital to be treated for
injuries including smoke inhalation, lacerations and fractures.
“There has been an intensification of hatred against
Muslims,” Sweden’s Islamic Association head Omar Mustafa told public radio SR
on Thursday.
Source: AFP.
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