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MOSQUES ATTACKED AFTER VAN GOGH MURDERED OVER FILM

Warriors believes that all religions and religious images should be "off limit" to satire and desecration. Violence is not acceptable for any religion. It's up to religious leaders to condemn the violence or be lumped in with the radicals and terrorists.
BACKGROUND- Danish newspaper asked cartoonists to draw images of Mohammed. The cartoons were first published in Sept 05. The chief editor said, "the purpose is to examine whether people would succumb to self censorship, as we have seen in other cases when it comes to Muslim issues." Earlier in the year, filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was murdered over his film that told the story of a Muslim woman forced into a marriage, abused by her husband and raped by her uncle. The Dutch government feared retaliation against Muslims.

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Filmmaker Theo Van Goghs neck was slit after he was shot. The government has urged calm amid fears of retaliation
Are the latest cartoons retaliation?

Several Dutch mosques have been attacked by arsonists as tension in the Netherlands grew after the grisly murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, related to renowned painter Vincent van Gogh.

Far-right protesters marched in Amsterdam and Rotterdam to express their anger at Van Gogh's killing. The filmmaker neck was slit after he was shot. The government has urged calm amid fears of retaliation in a country where hostility towards foreigners is on the rise.

The Netherlands is home to almost a million Muslims or almost 6% of its population of 16 million. The majority of Muslims are from Turkey and Morocco. A poll by RTL Nieuws showed 47% said they felt less tolerant of Muslims since the killing of Van Gogh, while another survey showed support for a populist who wants to stop immigration from Turkey and Morocco rising to 12%.

The ANP news agency reported on Sunday that mosques in the city of Rotterdam and the towns of Breda and Huizen were attacked, although not badly damaged, while pamphlets insulting to Islam were plastered on another mosque in Rotterdam.

In Amsterdam, where film director Theo van Gogh was stabbed and shot a centre for immigrants was daubed with red paint.

In the town of Huizen near Amsterdam, ANP said police had detained three people suspected of trying to start a fire at a mosque. In the southern town of Breda, unknown suspects lit a fire at a mosque in the early hours, but the fire had already been extinguished by the time police arrived, ANP said.

Police detained a 24-year-old man on suspicion of setting a fire at a mosque in Rotterdam. Only the door was damaged. Insulting pamphlets with pictures of pigs heads were plastered on another mosque in Rotterdam.

Early on Friday, several fires broke out at a new mosque belonging to a Moroccan religious association in the central town of Utrecht. Police said they were investigating arson.

A 26-year-old man with dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality wearing a long beard and Islamic garb was arrested and charged with the murder after a shootout with officers that left him wounded, police said Dutch national broadcaster NOS and other media reported that Van Gogh's killer shot and stabbed his victim and left a note on his body. NOS said witnesses described the attacker as having an "Arab appearance."

Van Gogh - who was related to the famous Dutch painter - had also been making a film about Pim Fortuyn, the populist right-wing, anti-immigration politician assassinated in May 2002.

Film controversy - The film Submission told the story of a Muslim woman forced into an arranged marriage who is abused by her husband and raped by her uncle. It triggered an outcry from Dutch Muslims

Van Gogh, 47, had received death threats after his film Submission was shown on Dutch TV. It portrayed violence against women in Islamic societies.

The film was made with liberal Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali refugee who fled an arranged marriage.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been under police protection since the film was aired. She has also received death threats and has renounced the Islamic faith.

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