THE HAGUE, April, 5, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – At a time the racist attacks against Dutch Muslims and Islamic places are on the rise, a government report warned that the scale of racism and extremism are worryingly increasing among right-wing “skinhead” youth, posing major threats to Dutch national security.

“The rate of racism and extremism have been worryingly on the rise among Dutch youth during the past few years,” said a report of the Utrecht state information service, published by NRC Handelsblad Monday, April 4.

The report warned that such radical right-wing youth groups pose grave dangers to Dutch society even more than what it termed as “Islamic extremism”, calling on Dutch security bodies and local authorities to examine how powerful are these groups in the country.

“Skinheads” are groups of students who have racist inclinations but without being members of any political party.

Researchers said the “skinhead” youth are often hailing to families suffering from social and psychological problems. They are also drug and narcotics’ addicts.

Those young people are usually marked with a special uniform having a racist slogan, exposing their rightist extreme inclinations.

Skinhead groups are believed to be behind the racist attacks against the Muslim minority and Islamic places in the Netherlands, according to a research conducted by the Leden University.

Since the murder of the Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, anti-Muslim attacks have been picking up speed and intensity in the country, reaching 106 assaults, a quarter of which were known to be carried out by skinheads, the research said.

Van Gogh was widely known for his criticism of Islam and recently caused an uproar with his short film “Submission” about Islam and women.

Dutch Muslims and human rights activists had expressed their deep disgust and outrage at the hatred-inciting 11-minute clip, saying they found it “extremely insulting”.

The Muslim minority in the Netherlands swiftly condemned the killing of the filmmaker.

The latest episode of racist attacks by skinheads against the Islamic places, meanwhile, fell on Saturday, April 2, when a group of youth threw wine bottles at a mosque in the city of Veneray.

Following the attack, clashes erupted between skinhead attackers and the Muslim faithful but the Dutch security forces and mosque staff members intervened to contain the situation.

Eyewitnesses said that a group of tipsy skinheads were roaming city streets before attending a concert organized by a youth center in the area.

While attending the concert, skinheads caused major uproars, forcing the center owner to wrap up the concert prematurely, the witnesses added.

Immediately, the apparently drunk skinheads left the center for the mosque in the area to throw bear bottles they had at the Islamic place.

J. Van Donselaar, a Dutch researcher told NRC Handelsblad that there was no exact statistics on the number of racist attacks carried out by skinheads.

“However, the number of the attacks goes beyond all expectations and are continually on the rise.”

A similar assessment was echoed by W. Van Amerongen, head of the Venlo police department.

“Skinheads are posing major threats, especially in the current circumstances,” he told the daily.

Researchers believe that the neighborhoods of Arnhem, Eindhoven and Roermond are the most likely hotbeds of skinheads, according to researchers.

They are also believed to be responsible for the arson attack against the Badr Islamic school in the central town of Uden on March 28.

Unidentified attackers had thrown Molotov cocktails on the Islamic school, the second attack of its kind in just few months, causing minor damages at the building.

Muslims make up one million of the Netherlands’s 16 million population. Turks represent 80 percent of the Muslim minority.

There are some 450 mosques in the Netherlands, 1,000 Islamic cultural centers, two Islamic universities and 42 preparatory schools, according to recent estimates.