A Helsinki Islamic centre was daubed with graffiti overnight on Thursday and Friday, in two consecutive days of vandalism attacks.
The words “rapers” and “fuck Islam” were found spray-painted on the outside of the Salamat charity’s prayer room in Mellunmäki, east Helsinki.
The perpetrator was caught on camera, but his face is obscured with a hoodie, officials at the community centre say.
“In Finland, Muslim communities face persistent hate crime” writes Superintendent Jari Taponen from Helsinki police on Twitter.
“The normalisation of hate speech also results in the normalisation of hate crime over time: Last night, of Helsinki’s prayer rooms was subject to hate crime damage” Taponen adds.
In February an Islamic community centre in Oulu was vandalised for the ninth time when someone threw a smoke grenade through the window. It cause localised scorching and smoke damage to the building.
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