Iran condemns arson attack on Brussels' mosque

Iran deplored the recent arson attack on a Shiite Mosque in Brussels and the killing of a religious leader in the Belgian capital. Undoubtedly, in today's world, violent attacks on religious places, which are a safe haven for worship, and the assassination of a respectable person is a heinous, inhumane and shocking act, the Iranian embassy in Brussels said in a statement on Wednesday. The statement said that it was incumbent upon all Muslims and Shiites to condemn the attack, voice their abhorrence of extremism and violence, and prevent enemies from taking advantage of such incidents to create religious rifts and social insecurity. It also called on the Belgian government to take proper measures to prevent a repetition of such attacks and bring the perpetrators of the felony to justice. An arsonist burst into a Shiite mosque in Brussels on Monday and set the place ablaze, which killed the Imam of the mosque and injured another individual. The 47-year-old Imam, Abdallah Dadou, died of smoke inhalation after a firebomb was thrown into the mosque. Police said the arsonist, detained after mosque personnel trapped him inside the building, entered the Shiite mosque armed with an axe, homemade explosives and a can of petrol. Authorities are investigating his motives and whether he had accomplices.