Mosques in Germany receive offensive packages, racist threats

Packages containing racist threats and insults in Turkish and German, as well as desecrated Quran pages, pork meat, and excrement, were sent to three mosques affiliated with the Religious Affairs Turkish-Islamic Union (DITIB) in Germany.

The Mevlana Mosque in Castrop-Rauxel received a package on Friday, the Merkez Mosque in Recklinghausen on Saturday, and the Merkez Mosque in Bochum, located in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state, received a package on Monday.

A criminal complaint has been filed against the senders, and local mosque leaders expressed their deep sorrow over the attacks, strongly condemning them while emphasising the need to capture and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Police have initiated an investigation into the matter.

Adnan Akcay, the head of the Bochum Central Mosque; Hayri Yilmaz, the head of the Recklinghausen Central Mosque; and Kubilay Corbaci, the head of the Castrop-Rauxel Mevlana Mosque, made a joint statement.

The statement emphasised that attacks are being strongly denounced, saying, "Against provocations, we will not deviate from our dignified and sensible stance, as always. This disgusting attack has deeply saddened us and our neighbors. Both we and our congregation are concerned."

"Further attacks of this kind will cause serious concerns in the society. We demand that the perpetrator or perpetrators be captured as soon as possible and brought to justice," it added.

At least 35 mosques were attacked in Germany last year, with the majority of these attacks motivated by anti-Muslim sentiments and right-wing extremism in the country, according to DITIB.