The head of the Czech Muslim Communities Centre, Muneeb Hassan Alrawi, strongly condemned the latest hate crime.
“We take it seriously as a direct threat, it’s not an anonymous call on the internet. We must also see this in the light of attacks on mosques in the world and of the oppressive sentiment and atmosphere in the Czech Republic,” he said while speaking to local news outlets.
The Muslim community in Czechia is tiny compared to neighboring countries. The same goes for refugees and migrants who don’t usually pick it out as a place to settle. This is probably because the nation is considered as one of the most hostile towards Muslims and refugees/asylum seekers who adhere to the Islamic faith.
In 2011, statistics tallied the number of Muslims residing in the EU member as 3,358. However, unofficial estimates report that between 10,000 to 20,000 Muslims are Czech Republic residents, according to France 24.
Muslims in the country have long been subjected to hate crimes as local politicians keep pushing forth the bigoted, racist, and flat-out false rhetoric equating people of the faith with terrorism.