The Turkish Dutch Mevlana mosque in Rotterdam turned Orange yesterday in (a display of) support for the Dutch football team playing against Spain.

They will do this every time the Dutch have to play.

This is not the first time Mevlana does this. They started with it in 2012. See this report of TV Rijnmond (in Dutch):

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcEcXOxZm0w]

If, at that time, Turkey played (but they didn’t) they would have turned the mosque orange. Besides these displays of multiple national belongings the report also shows a form of local belonging since the spokesperson in the video clearly indicates support for players who are from Rotterdam such as Van Persie en Vlaar (at that time playing for one of the local clubs: Feyenoord).

I’m not sure what the situation is now, but in the past the Mevlana mosque was certainly not the only mosques showing its colors. The Turkish Mescidi Cuma mosque in the southern town of Oss did it already in 2010:

And in the same town the Ulu mosque in 2006:

The new Ulu mosque in Utrecht, in the migrant area of Lombok, the mosque was also ready for the game:

In the Turkish-Dutch Selimiye moskee in Veghel people put up a tent and watched the game there:

I’m not sure if it is a coincidence these are all Turkish-Dutch mosques; I do know that in several Moroccan-Dutch mosques people often gather to watch the game but I haven’t come across many who have similar displays of Orange belonging.

The reactions I saw sofar are mixed: people (Muslim and non-Muslim) seeing at as sign of positive inclusion and integration and others what this has to do with the idea that the mosque is a religious place.