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http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2004-12/29/article06.shtml

Khaled Shawkat, IOL Correspondent THE HAGUE, December 29 (IslamOnline.net) – The best way to sum up the dying year of 2004 for Dutch Muslims is to speak about religious discrimination, xenophobes, bigotry, last but not least, racist attacks on their places of worship. Even before the November killing of anti-Islam filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, following his insulting documentary about Islam, Dutch Muslims have been targeted by the extremist agenda of the influential right-wing parties. The xenophobia and extremism cancer prompted Queen Beatrix to dedicate her annual address to the nation Saturday, December 25, to national unity and the importance of tolerance and moderation for the welfare of Dutch society. "We must make sure that there is no room in our society for bigotry, racism, killing, violence and [religious] hatred to face up to the daunting challenges ahead," the Queen said. "All Dutch people should work for the common good." The Queen felt that her people were in danger of descending into a deadly civil war especially after 20 mosques and Islamic schools had come under arson attacks linked to the murder of Van Gogh by a Dutchman of Moroccan origin. The Muslim community was indeed quick to condemn the killing of the filmmaker. "I abhor his views on Islam and find them hurtful for the Islamic community, but there is no motive that can justify a murder," Ayhan Tonca, of the Dutch organ for contact between Muslims and government, had said in an earlier interview. Right-wingers Observers say right-wingers like Fortuyn are to blame for feelings of frustrations among the Muslim community. Observers said some one million Dutch Muslims felt really hard done-by because of their religion, holding the right-wing and media accountable. What added insult to injury is that extremist right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn, who was killed in May 2002, was declared the greatest Dutchman of all times in a recent nationwide survey. "The anti-Muslim agenda of the ruling coalition of right-wing parties has, in effect, given rise to Muslim extremists and is a breeding ground for recruiting frustrated young Muslims," Ali Kurkamaz, a Dutch political analyst told IslamOnline.net Wednesday, December 29. "This extremist agenda has given minority communities a real hard time." The right-wing government is now mulling imposing new restrictions on Muslims, including monitoring mosques and curbing their number, censoring sermons, editing Islamic curricula, placing Islamic charities under close scrutiny and constricting visas for imams and Muslim immigrants. In November, the right-wing Leefbaar Rotterdam (Livable Rogtterdam) party submitted a petition to Rotterdam's Local Council, asking it to deny the Muslim community in the city (around 100,000 people) licenses to build more mosques. It was also pressing for keeping minarets below 35 meters and censoring sermons and religious classes in the city's 25 mosques. There are more than 300 mosques in the Netherlands, 1000 Islamic cultural centers, two Islamic universities and 42 preparatory schools. Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk faced a heated discussion over her new plans in parliament on December 12, though a decision is not expected for several weeks. The Netherlands already makes integration classes mandatory for newcomers as laws have been changed to oblige all new immigrants and accepted asylum seekers to take classes in Dutch language and culture. Integrating immigrants has been the subject of much debate in the Netherlands since the emergence of right-wing politicians such as Fortuyn. Xenophobic Media Aref Yaksir, an official with the largest Turkish Dianat organization in the Netherlands, heaped blame on Dutch media for its xenophobic approach. He told IOL that some media portrayed Islam as a nightmare and a serious threat to the country. "It seems [through media coverage] as if the country was abounding with Muslim extremists and inundated by terrorist operations," he said. Mohammad Sharif, a journalist of Kurdish origin, gave Muslims some good advice for 2005. "Refuse to be provoked. Let the right wingers miss the golden opportunity of enacting fresh anti-immigrants laws and justifying unfair measures." You May Also Read: British Muslims a Success Story in 2004 2004 "Year of Islam" in France Italian Muslims Survive "Hate Fits" in 2004 --------------------------------------------------------- MIM :Rotterdam officials think social programs instead of SWAT teams will prevent radicalisation of Muslim youth. It appears that the city council in Rotterdam is hedging their bets in case the tolerance agreement between the Muslim an non Muslim inhabitants does not work as planned . Civil servants will not receive training on how to detect youth who appear to be susceptible to radicalisation(!). Would possible radicalisation make them ineligible for the goverment subsidised course on how to pick to up women? http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/409 . It must be noted that the Mayor Opstelten who is cited in the article below as being concerned about radicalisation ,is the person who ordered the police to force a Dutch artist to remove his mural saying "Thou Shalt Not Kill" from a wall in Rotterdam,one day after the Van Gogh murder, on the grounds that it was offensive to local Muslims who attended a nearby mosque. (see above). At the end of the article Mayor Opstelten unintentionally reveals how the insanity of diversity has triumphed over common sense and survival. It is obvious that the officials in Rotterdam have failed to grasp the fact that the radicalisation of Dutch born Muslims is not going to be solved by their foreign born, non Dutch speaking parents,and that the fact of having to find ways to 'assimilate' these youth is more proof , if any was needed that taxpayer funded integration,and citizenship courses are not only redundant and oxymoronic but are perpetrating a deadly deception that the threat can be avoided . The only thing which can save Holland from turning into Hollandistan are SWAT teams - not social programs. Rotterdam Mayor Opstelten showed that the Dutch are not willing to tackle the problem when he " emphasized that; " Rotterdam is not following either a soft or hard line. The path to integration is hard . Who doesn't want to participate will be shut out." The municipality is thinking about , among other things, a 'last chance' trajectory for youth and an obligatory parenting and disipline courses for parents of these youths." MIM: Which begs the question if the parents and youth who 'fail' the courses will receive an F for fundamentalism? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- vrijdag 4 februari 2005 uur. Rotterdam alert op radicaliserende jongeren http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/1107496756672.html ROTTERDAM - Rotterdam gaat ambtenaren trainen om vroegtijdig te kunnen signaleren of jongeren dreigen te radicaliseren. In Rotterdam zijn tussen de 175 en vierhonderd Marokkaanse jongeren op korte termijn vatbaar voor radicalisering. Rotterdam maakte de informatie vrijdag bekend bij de presentatie van het actieprogramma tegen radicalisering Meedoen of Achterblijven. Volgens burgemeester Opstelten moet je de risico's benoemen. 'Dit is een nieuw fenomeen en we nemen dat heel serieus. We moeten niet naïef zijn. Het moet duidelijk zijn waarover we praten en waar het om gaat.' Het COT, Instituut voor Veiligheids- en Crisismanagement, verdeelt de groepen in 'een aantal actief geradicaliseerden met een een redelijke opleiding in Delfshaven, Feijenoord en Kralingen-Crooswijk' en 'potentieel voetvolk in Noord'. 'Het samenkomen van die twee groepen levert een risico. Er zal fors moeten worden ingezet om erachter te komen of dat gebeurt', aldus U. Rosenthal, voorzitter van het COT. Het COT heeft met AIVD, politie en justitie overlegd over deze informatie. Rotterdam gaat in nauw overleg met de Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding een zogeheten verstoringsmethodiek ontwikkelen waarbij wordt gelet op personen en verzamelplaatsen. Opstelten: 'We gaan niet iets heel nieuws optakelen en het wordt hier geen voorpost van de AIVD. Het gaat nog steeds om vroegtijdige signalering. Je moet dingen proberen voor te zijn'. Met het 44 punten tellende actieplan willen burgemeester en wethouders de kans op radicalisering verminderen. Ze doen dat door discriminatie op de arbeidsmarkt te bestrijden en via initiatieven die emancipatie en integratie bevorderen. 'Investeren in taal, opleiding in werk is belangrijk, hoewel het natuurlijk geen volledige garantie is dat je extremisme voorkomt', aldus Rosenthal. Opstelten benadrukt dat Rotterdam niet een softe en een harde lijn volgt. 'Ook het spoor om integratie te verbeteren is hard. Wie niet mee wil doen, wordt uitgesloten.' De gemeente denkt daarbij onder meer aan laatste kans trajecten voor jongeren en verplichte opvoedingsbegeleiding voor ouders van deze jongeren. ---------------------------------------------- For Sale by Cousin Ali ... 10,000 euros - For Dutch residence permit 100% Virgin