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15-11-04, 17:02
The integration debate intensifies
Like the 2002 murder of populist politician Pim Fortuyn, the slaying of controversial filmmaker Theo van Gogh last Tuesday has caused a stirring in the national mindset, captivating public attention.
Text: Steven Otter & Dave van Ginhoven
Photo: Hilco Koke
However, while most Dutch breathed a collective sigh of relief when Fortuyn’s murderer was identified as a left wing animal rights activist, last week the facts, as they came to light, told a different story. The great-great nephew of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death, allegedly by an Islamist extremist, Mohammed B., in Amsterdam’s Linnaeusstraat. The killing was carried out as revenge for the film, ‘Submission,’ he had made with the VVD MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali, in which otherwise naked women in transparent ‘burquas’ read verses from the Koran that allegedly justified the physical abuse of women. The suspect attached a five-page letter to a knife he plunged into Van Gogh’s body, in which he accuses Hirsi Ali of being part of a ‘crusade against Islam.’
Then, late last week, the attacks began; a bomb threat against the American Embassy on Friday; attempted torchings of several mosques across the country over the weekend; and the bombing of an Islamic school on Sunday night. On Tuesday unidentified arsonists tried to set fire to two churches in Rotterdam.
Asked why he believed mosques had been attacked, the spokesman for the Al-Tahweed Mosque in Amsterdam, Fareed Zaari, said the general reaction to the murder had been "to find a scapegoat. Make no mistake: we think his murder was horrifying, but now people are trying to move attention to us, the Muslims." Zaari denied that Mohammed B. had been a regular visitor to the controversial mosque, which made headlines some months ago for funding a Saudi Arabian charity allegedly with ties to Al Queida. Also, a library book at Al-Tahweed contained a sentence on how homosexuals should be thrown from buildings. "He wasn’t a regular visitor; he came to our mosque for prayers only a few times. No one believed us, until some journalists interviewed a couple of Mohammed B.’s friends, and they confirmed our story."
Meanwhile, the political debate heated up at the end of last week when the Cabinet called for emergency powers to facilitate what the Vice-Premier, Gerrit Zalm, called "a war on extremism." A temporary expansion of power for the Dutch Intelligence Agency (AIVD), the deportation of convicted terrorists upon the completion of their prison sentences and the closing of mosques that are considered too radical in their beliefs were some of the suggestions made. Some prominent Dutch politicians, such as the GroenLinks party’s Femke Halsema, said Zalm’s comments were too inflammatory. However, one MP, Geert Wilders, went so far as to say Muslims should be denied all civil rights. A recent poll found that in an election the firebrand would gain more seats in parliament than the Liberal Party (VVD), which he left a few weeks ago.
Asked about Wilders’ comments, the Chairman of the Dutch branch of the Arab European League, Nabil Marmouch, said, "The lack of harmony and respect in Dutch society stems from people like Wilders and Ali. Why don’t we know each other? It is because we have an elitist group of native Dutch politicians picking ‘Uncle Toms’, like Hirsi Ali and Aboutaleb [Amsterdam Councillor of Social Affairs, Integration and Education] to represent their communities." Marmouch challenged Wilders and Verdonk [Integration and Immigration Minister] to have a "constructive debate. The solution is not in shooting or cursing each other. Let’s have dialogue based on mutual respect." The AEL condemned Van Gogh’s murder, "not because we feel guilty, or responsible, but because we are a social organisation that had confrontations with him. We do care about freedom of expression, which is in the Dutch law. However, calling people "goat fuckers" is not an opinion, it’s an insult. But murder is completely unjustified." Asked about Aboutaleb’s comment in an Amsterdam mosque that those who weren’t happy with Dutch laws could return to where they came from, Marmouch replied, "Aboutaleb can be on the passenger list on my aeroplane; I will pay for it and he can get the hell out of this country. I have never heard of him telling Dutch natives the same thing." Asked why those in the mosque had applauded the Councillor’s comments, he replied, "These are brainwashed first generation people who still feel like guests here, but this is not the opinion of the second generation. We are full citizens and want to be treated as such. If a Dutchman shoots someone outside a television studio [where Fortuyn was gunned down] he gets 18 years and isn’t deported; are we going to use different standards for different citizens?" Herbert Raad, the spokesman for Ahmed Aboutaleb, said constitutional rules about freedom of expression applied to everyone. "I don’t think he [Marmouch] has a point," he replied when asked whether the AEL leader’s comment that Pim Fortuyn’s murderer, a Dutch native, hadn’t sparked similar debates of nationality. "If you are born here or came to this country the same rule applies – if you don’t like it here then leave."
Later Raad called back and said, "Mr Aboutaleb is trying to be a councillor for all Amsterdammers."
While Verdonk’s spokeswomen said she had heard nothing of Marmouch’s debate idea, Wilders did not return the two phone calls or reply to the email sent to him on Wednesday morning.
The police, meanwhile, are remaining tight–lipped about what they are doing to protect religious institutions. "What you see is what you see, and what you don’t might be there," replied Amsterdam spokesman Rob van der Veen. Asked how then the media knew of Hirsi Ali’s police protection, he replied, "Because they see it."
Like the 2002 murder of populist politician Pim Fortuyn, the slaying of controversial filmmaker Theo van Gogh last Tuesday has caused a stirring in the national mindset, captivating public attention.
Text: Steven Otter & Dave van Ginhoven
Photo: Hilco Koke
However, while most Dutch breathed a collective sigh of relief when Fortuyn’s murderer was identified as a left wing animal rights activist, last week the facts, as they came to light, told a different story. The great-great nephew of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death, allegedly by an Islamist extremist, Mohammed B., in Amsterdam’s Linnaeusstraat. The killing was carried out as revenge for the film, ‘Submission,’ he had made with the VVD MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali, in which otherwise naked women in transparent ‘burquas’ read verses from the Koran that allegedly justified the physical abuse of women. The suspect attached a five-page letter to a knife he plunged into Van Gogh’s body, in which he accuses Hirsi Ali of being part of a ‘crusade against Islam.’
Then, late last week, the attacks began; a bomb threat against the American Embassy on Friday; attempted torchings of several mosques across the country over the weekend; and the bombing of an Islamic school on Sunday night. On Tuesday unidentified arsonists tried to set fire to two churches in Rotterdam.
Asked why he believed mosques had been attacked, the spokesman for the Al-Tahweed Mosque in Amsterdam, Fareed Zaari, said the general reaction to the murder had been "to find a scapegoat. Make no mistake: we think his murder was horrifying, but now people are trying to move attention to us, the Muslims." Zaari denied that Mohammed B. had been a regular visitor to the controversial mosque, which made headlines some months ago for funding a Saudi Arabian charity allegedly with ties to Al Queida. Also, a library book at Al-Tahweed contained a sentence on how homosexuals should be thrown from buildings. "He wasn’t a regular visitor; he came to our mosque for prayers only a few times. No one believed us, until some journalists interviewed a couple of Mohammed B.’s friends, and they confirmed our story."
Meanwhile, the political debate heated up at the end of last week when the Cabinet called for emergency powers to facilitate what the Vice-Premier, Gerrit Zalm, called "a war on extremism." A temporary expansion of power for the Dutch Intelligence Agency (AIVD), the deportation of convicted terrorists upon the completion of their prison sentences and the closing of mosques that are considered too radical in their beliefs were some of the suggestions made. Some prominent Dutch politicians, such as the GroenLinks party’s Femke Halsema, said Zalm’s comments were too inflammatory. However, one MP, Geert Wilders, went so far as to say Muslims should be denied all civil rights. A recent poll found that in an election the firebrand would gain more seats in parliament than the Liberal Party (VVD), which he left a few weeks ago.
Asked about Wilders’ comments, the Chairman of the Dutch branch of the Arab European League, Nabil Marmouch, said, "The lack of harmony and respect in Dutch society stems from people like Wilders and Ali. Why don’t we know each other? It is because we have an elitist group of native Dutch politicians picking ‘Uncle Toms’, like Hirsi Ali and Aboutaleb [Amsterdam Councillor of Social Affairs, Integration and Education] to represent their communities." Marmouch challenged Wilders and Verdonk [Integration and Immigration Minister] to have a "constructive debate. The solution is not in shooting or cursing each other. Let’s have dialogue based on mutual respect." The AEL condemned Van Gogh’s murder, "not because we feel guilty, or responsible, but because we are a social organisation that had confrontations with him. We do care about freedom of expression, which is in the Dutch law. However, calling people "goat fuckers" is not an opinion, it’s an insult. But murder is completely unjustified." Asked about Aboutaleb’s comment in an Amsterdam mosque that those who weren’t happy with Dutch laws could return to where they came from, Marmouch replied, "Aboutaleb can be on the passenger list on my aeroplane; I will pay for it and he can get the hell out of this country. I have never heard of him telling Dutch natives the same thing." Asked why those in the mosque had applauded the Councillor’s comments, he replied, "These are brainwashed first generation people who still feel like guests here, but this is not the opinion of the second generation. We are full citizens and want to be treated as such. If a Dutchman shoots someone outside a television studio [where Fortuyn was gunned down] he gets 18 years and isn’t deported; are we going to use different standards for different citizens?" Herbert Raad, the spokesman for Ahmed Aboutaleb, said constitutional rules about freedom of expression applied to everyone. "I don’t think he [Marmouch] has a point," he replied when asked whether the AEL leader’s comment that Pim Fortuyn’s murderer, a Dutch native, hadn’t sparked similar debates of nationality. "If you are born here or came to this country the same rule applies – if you don’t like it here then leave."
Later Raad called back and said, "Mr Aboutaleb is trying to be a councillor for all Amsterdammers."
While Verdonk’s spokeswomen said she had heard nothing of Marmouch’s debate idea, Wilders did not return the two phone calls or reply to the email sent to him on Wednesday morning.
The police, meanwhile, are remaining tight–lipped about what they are doing to protect religious institutions. "What you see is what you see, and what you don’t might be there," replied Amsterdam spokesman Rob van der Veen. Asked how then the media knew of Hirsi Ali’s police protection, he replied, "Because they see it."