In Latest Attack On Hindu Community In Netherlands, Temple Vandalised In Country’s ‘Sharia Triangle’

Even as Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi met Netherlands PM Mark Rutte yesterday (24 May), a Hindu temple was vandalised in the country’s ‘Sharia Triangle’, state-funded Omroep West has reported.

The neighbourhood, Schilderswijk, is known for it’s Islamist sympathisers and has been named as the ‘sharia triangle’ by local media, according to a report by Al-Jazeera.

The attack took place in The Hague, the Dutch city which positions itself as an international city of peace and justice, and follows several such attacks on the local Hindu community.

The attack, targeting the temple’s prayer room, saw several large stones being pelted at the windows even as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is being observed.

'The perpetrators did their best: both windows are double-glazed. There are a lot of glass fragments in the room. Probably they have consciously chosen for the prayer room. Fortunately, the vandals have not been inside," the temple’s chairman Siddharth Ramdhani told the media.

Ramdhani also said that this is the latest in the series of harassments that the Hindu community has had to face in the area with over 90 per cent immigrant population. Hindu prayer gatherings in the temple’s garden are often disrupted with stones and bottles being thrown at the devotees.

'Not only during Ramadan, but also during our own religious festivities, we are harassed by young people. With this publicity we hope that the behaviour of these young people will be stopped,' he added.

The attack happened just before the Dutch PM’s visit to India where he held extensive talks with PM Modi over co-operation between India and Netherlands over a variety of issues.

Rutte however had to cut short his visit and return to Netherlands to attend to some pressing domestic issues.