A fire broke out in the night from Friday to Saturday at a building in Veldhoven, Brabant, where the Islamic foundation Islamplanning is located. Police suspect arson, a police spokesperson reported NRC. “We take into account that this fire did not just start.” No arrests have yet been made or suspects have been identified.
The fire in the Islamic center started around 2:30 a.m. and was extinguished by the fire service shortly after. No one was in the building at the time. It is not yet known what caused the fire. Photos show how windows of the building have been smashed. “It is possible that flammable liquid was thrown in,” said the police spokesman. Around the time of the fire, local residents heard a scooter drive away. Police are currently conducting a neighborhood investigation and are reviewing CCTV footage.
The Islamplanning foundation provides lessons for children, among other things, and moved to Veldhoven in June. Many residents were against the arrival of the foundation because it was discredited in 2019 after research by NRC and Nieuwsuur: Koran teacher and Salafist preacher Mohammed Riani gave young people radical lessons in which he glorified corporal punishment, among other things. A petition against the arrival of the foundation in Veldhoven was signed by hundreds.
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