Residents of Uppsala, Sweden’s fourth-largest city, have gathered to show their support for the local Muslim community after a local mosque was attacked by a petrol bomb.
The rally follows attacks on mosques throughout Sweden. According to the anti-racism magazine Expo, there were 13 such attacks during 2014.
Hundreds of locals have countered the hate with a show of love and peace, sticking messages of support on heart-shaped pieces of paper and sticking them to the mosque under a banner reading: “Don’t touch my mosque.”
Sweden’s Minister for Culture and Democracy Mrs Alice Bah Kuhnke addressed the rally.
“We have invited representatives from the civil Muslim society. Together we will work out a strategy. It will be about shedding light across the country. A strategy Sweden unfortunately hasn’t had. But now it’s the time,” she said.
