German official urges protection of mosques amid fireboming wave

A leading official of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic (CDU) party emphasized the need to protect mosques amid the recent wave of firebombings, the daily Welt reported Saturday. Asked whether German mosques should be guarded in future, CDU Secretary General Hermann Groehe would 'not rule out' such possibility. He reiterated that any endangered mosque, had 'the right to be protected.' German mosques have repeatedly been the target of racial and Islamophobic attacks in recent months. In Berlin, mosques have been the scene of at least seven firebombings since June 2010. The Sehitlik Mosque, Berlin biggest mosque, has been arson attacked four times in recent times. German Muslim leaders had earlier voiced strong concern over the firebombings of mosques, calling for stepped up security measures. Merkel's center-right government has tried to downplay the anti-Muslim hate crimes as a result of mounting Islamophobia in the country.