And I here I was thinking only Muslims are stupid enough to become brainwashed by extremist preachers:
Latest Updates: netherlands RSS
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thabet
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thabet
The collapse of the Dutch government over The Netherlands’ role in Afghanistan is being seen by some pundits as a chance for Geert Wilders to enter a future coalition government.
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johnpi
Worse than H1N1: Fears of a new pandemic as goat flu outbreak in the Netherlands kills 6.
A virus called goat flu, or Q-fever, has appeared in the Netherlands, raising concerns over the possibility of an outbreak of a new global pandemic while the world is still trying to curb swine flu that has killed thousands, press reports said Wednesday.
More than 2,300 people have been infected with goat flu in the European country and six people have died since last week, according to online news sources.
….Q-fever infections usually occur in a cluster in one year and then peter out the next. But the Dutch outbreak has been growing and spreading out over agricultural areas for three years despite increasingly strong measures to contain it.
“That hasn’t happened before,” Van Son said, “not in Europe or anywhere else.”
So far there has been no known human-to-human transmission of Q-fever. Dutch authorities are planning to slaughter hundreds of thousands of goats and sheep in that country.
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johnpi
Dutch remember filmmaker Theo van Gogh, murdered by a Muslim fanatic 5 years ago.
Takeaway quote: “Many Dutch say the Van Gogh murder helped the rise of Geert Wilders, an anti-immigrant politician whose party leads in recent polls.”
The killing also turned an ill-tempered, grouchy crank into a martyr.
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thabet
Apparently, Geert Wilders wants to impose a tax or a fine on Muslim women for wearing a hijab.
These sorts of measures show that anti-Muslim bigots are not only racist, but also misogynistic: the target for their hatred is almost always Muslim women.
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johnpi
Tariq Ramadan: An open letter to my detractors in the Netherlands.
Once again I have come under attack in The Netherlands. Last May and June, I was accused of “doublespeak”, of “homophobia” and of demeaning women. Upon investigation, Rotterdam Municipality declared the accusations unfounded. Today, the argument goes, I am linked to the Iranian regime; I support the repression that followed the recent elections. Should we be surprised that this latest accusation has surfaced only in The Netherlands? It is as if I in particular, and Islam in general, were being used to promote certain political agendas in the upcoming Dutch elections. Geert Wilders, who wins votes while comparing the Qur’an to Hitler’s Mein Kampf, casts a long shadow. I am cast as the cause of an outburst of political passions that is far from healthy. But the present controversy says far more about the alarming state of politics in The Netherlands than about my person.
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thabet
This will have the jafis feeling jumpy:
Mohamed is by far the most popular name for babies in the four major cities in the Netherlands.
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thabet
A Muslim party is campaigning for municipal elections in several Dutch cities:
Party chairman Henny Kreeft says he is also in discussion with party branches in at least a further five municipalities on whether they will field candidates. In June Mr Kreeft said he hoped party representatives would be standing in twenty districts. The NMP will launch its election manifesto after Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, which this year ends on 19 September.
If it is successful, the NMP will not be the first Islamic party to be represented in Dutch local politics. The Islam Democrats have held a seat on the local council in The Hague since 2006.
Interestingly, Henny Kreeft was a member of the party led by Pim Fortuyn.
There are a number of ‘Christian democratic’ parties across Europe (which is to be expected given the history, culture, etc). I don’t see a problem with ‘Muslim democratic’ parties operating in the same way, although I am not sure the new leader of the will help the Netherlands Muslim Party win many seats:
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Ismaili (31) caused a scandal in 2008 as a district councillor for the PvdA (Labor Party). She signed a petition for the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, with phrases such as “It’s time to rid ourselves of a culture which damages Islam.” Additionally she wrote hate-email. The PvdA fraction in the Charlois district dropped her and Ismaili continued as a one-man fraction. Ismaili, popular in her neighborhood of Carnisse, refused to apologize.
I don’t know if the aim of Muslims political parties contesting local elections should be to offer a “response” to negative stories about Islam, although that may a positive consequence.
There used to be a Muslim political party in Britain, but it is now defunct (according to the Wikipedia entry).
(Via Islam in Europe.)
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thabet
A considerable number of culturally sophisticated and morally superior Europeans voted for an anti-Muslim bigot.
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thabet
Superior Sophisticated Civilisation Watch:
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thabet
Geert Wilders will be prosecuted in Holland for ‘inciting hatred and discrimination’.
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thabet
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thabet
An investigation by the city of Rotterdam has cleared Tariq Ramadan of homophobia and misogyny, and extended his contract as some kind of advisor to the city’s cultural life.
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thabet
A group of Dutch Protestants from the Netherlands’ ‘Bible Belt’ say the 12-star European Union flag is offensive, because it symbolises Catholic veneration of the Virgin Mary.
More at Faith Central.
(I was more surprised to read that the Dutch still have and wear biblical belts.)
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thabet
Geert Wilders’ Superior And Sophisticated Civilisation Watch:
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thabet
Seven people arrested on terror charges in Holland.
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thabet
The state’s role in defining ‘religion’:
The Muslim had turned to the court since he claimed his freedom of religion was being affected. Earlier the Committee for Equal Treatment had agreed with him. The judge agreed with the Rotterdam municipality that somebody who daily receives customers at the social services may not refuse shaking hands.
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thabet
Relatives of the Srebrenica victims have filed a civil action against the Dutch government, according to a press release posted at AE’s website.
