(NL Times) The Essalam Mosque in Rotterdam, the largest mosque in the Netherlands, decided to break ties with imam Said Abarkan over Salafist remarks he made in the past. The decision was made after extensive deliberation. “We’re parting ways in good consultation. In the interest of the future of the mosque. He understands that,” Abdel Sadni said to AD on behalf of the mosque.
In a report on the rise of Salafist Islam, NRC and Nieuwsuur reported last week that imam Abarkan said that Muslims only belong in an Islamic country. He made these statements before he started working at the Essalam [Mosque]. “Even if you have a Dutch passport: the Netherlands is not our country,” he said, according to the news agencies.
