Hawzah News Agency-The shocking CCTV footage from the Al-Ummah mosque in Amsterdam shows the 80-year-old muezzin – the person who calls the faithful to prayer five times a day – being thrown to the ground by a younger man, believed to be part of a radical group.

According to local media, the violent attack was carried out by the son of a radical Imam whose faction tried to take over the mosque.

A spokesman for the City of Amsterdam confirmed the incident took place on November 10.

The muezzin has since filed a criminal complaint regarding the assault despite the alleged perpetrator believed to have fled to Morocco.

The suspect is said to be in his early 40s and had previously held the post of Imam at two other Amsterdam mosques.

The vice chairman of the mosque, Lahcen Farah, said he was taking the case very seriously.

According to Mr Farah, the attack comes after a group of young radicals tried to take control of the mosque.

According to Dutch Labour MP Ahmed Marcouch, 47, there have been tensions at the mosque between older, traditional Muslims and Salafist activists.

The mosque leader is left on the ground following a confrontation

Mr Marcouch, a former police officer, as well as the spokesman for the Union of Moroccan Mosques in the Netherlands, said: "Apparently, they have succeeded in infiltrating key positions."

He explained that to the dismay of the older generation, Salafists are attempting to gain territory by hanging around in groups inside and in front of the mosque.

Marcouch, who once called the Netherlands "naive" in handling Salafists, has not been the only Dutch-Moroccan politician to take a hard line against Salafists.

The Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, once vowed to “wipe out” tens of thousands of ISIS fighters.

He said: "I am no military strategist but as a manager, I say it is time to wipe out the 40,000 to 50,000 people who have joined ISIS."