Muslim school bombed in Netherlands (WaTi – UPI)
A powerful bomb gutted a Muslim school in the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven Monday, another in a recent series of anti-Muslim acts, the BBC reported. There were no injuries in the blast, but a police spokesman said the explosion was powerful enough to blow out windows from neighboring buildings.
Mosques in several Dutch cities have been targeted by vandals and failed arsonists in what police believe are revenge attacks since the murder last week of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by suspected Islamic militants. In the past three days, attacks against Muslim targets were reported in the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Breda and Huizen.
So far, police have made eight arrests in van Gogh’s death. He was shot and stabbed while bicycling to work in Amsterdam last Tuesday morning. He was apparently targeted after releasing a film called “Submission,” which was critical of how women are treated in Muslim society.
Anti-Muslim anger is certainly understandable given the circumstances. But indiscriminate violence against random members of a group in response to grievances with specific members of the group is no different from terrorism. It’s interesting, though, that the mature, peaceful citizens of Europe seem more prone to these acts of retaliation than the reckless, gun toting cowboys of the United States.
