Nazi flags near Dunmurry mosque 'reminds me I am a stranger'

A trainee doctor has said the flying of Nazi flags near a Belfast mosque reminds the Muslim community here that they are "strangers".

Mustafa Elimam was speaking after Friday Prayer at the Iqraa Mosque in Dunmurry.

Three flags bearing the swastika and the symbol of the SS were erected on lampposts outside the mosque on Tuesday night.

Mr Elimam described the incident as "scary and disgusting".

"I am in Ireland since January 2000, so this reminds me I still am a stranger," he told BBC News NI.

"This is not justified and it is like a hatred act."

CCTV footage captured a man with a ladder erecting the flags during the night.

Police said the man arrived at about 22:45 BST on Tuesday and left on foot via the Kingsway area at about 23:20.

They are treating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime.

Mr Elimam, who is based in Templepatrick, attended Friday Prayer with his three children.

"This will not help us to integrate, this will remind us that we are strangers, so it's not good for integration," he said.

Earlier, Imam Jamal Iweida addressed the incident, telling the congregation of several hundred people to not panic.

He said the police are working hard to find out who placed the flags outside the mosque.

He added: "We are part of this community, we are part of this society.

"Nobody is going to scare us, we are not going to be scared, we are not going to be deterred to live peacefully.

"We serve this country as everybody else. We belong to this country and we represent this country and we love this country".

He also paid tribute to neighbouring communities and said his congregation is grateful for the support they have received since the incident.

Mr Iweida said the congregation is now considering ways to improve security around their mosque.