In October 2025, a Syrian Christian asylum seeker was reportedly threatened, injured, and intimidated by Muslim residents at the asylum seekers’ centre (AZC) in Goes, Netherlands. The incident seems to be part of a broader rise in anti-Christian hostility reported in Dutch asylum facilities.
Wassim, who had converted to Christianity and been baptised in the Netherlands in May, was found in a state of shock after the incident. A knife was reportedly brandished, and he sustained injuries. A local school principal and Member of Parliament Lizo Koppejan, who discovered him shortly afterward, believes the family, who belonged to the Druze community in Syria, was targeted because they had converted to the Christian faith and been baptised in the Netherlands at the end of May. He has called for improved staff training and protective measures within the COA (Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers).
The Dutch Christian organisation Gave Foundation, which maintains a reporting centre for Christian converts and asylum seekers, has noted a clear increase in such incidents: 11 in 2023, 17 in 2024, and 17 in the first half of 2025 alone. These cases include verbal abuse, physical assaults, and discrimination against Christian asylum seekers.