Small orange flags are seen hovering over the Osse mosque.

THE HAGUE — Dutch Muslims have decorated mosques' minarets and houses with orange and national flags in support of the Dutch soccer team in the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany.

Small orange flags are seen hovering over the only minaret of the Oglu mosque in the Osse city, Brabant.

"The Muslim minority wanted to demonstrate their loyalty to the Netherlands and support for the national soccer team in World Cup 2006," mosque imam Yasin Dagruyol told IslamOnline.net.

Following suit, Muslim and non-Muslim residents of Osse have raised Dutch flags over their buildings.

"We just wanted to show that Muslims are part and parcel of Dutch society," Mustafa Sen, chairman of the Interact Youth Foundation, told IOL.

Dutch Muslims nationwide have also hoisted Dutch flags over Islamic cultural and religious centers, following in the footsteps of their peers in Osse.

Holland sealed a World Cup second-round berth on Friday, June 17, after beating Ivory Coast 2-1 in their Group C.

This came after the Dutch players beat Serbia and Montenegro 1-0 in their opener.

The Dutch will play against Argentina, 6-0 winners over Serbia and Montenegro earlier Friday, in a dead game on Wednesday before going into the second round of 16 three days later.

Screens

A big screen was also set up in the cultural center of the Osse mosque to display the World Cup matches for the Dutch.

"We provide a friendly atmosphere and encourage people to join us instead of going to cafes," Sen said.

Dutch Muslim media have also entered the fray.

Times Media newspaper, a major Turkish newspaper published in the Netherlands, has called on the Dutch Muslims or Turkish origin to place the Dutch flags over their houses and windows.

Sen said the Osse mosque's initiative has drawn a warming welcome from Dutch residents and municipality officials.

He said that World Cup was a golden opportunity for Muslims to clear out misconceptions about their worship places and religion.

"It will help remove misconceptions and allay fears triggered by media exaggeration and show that the Islamic faith is no obstacle to entertainment," he added.

Muslims make up one million of the Netherlands’s 16 million population.

There are more than 300 mosques, 1000 Islamic cultural centers, two Islamic universities and 42 preparatory schools in the country.