(NL Times) PVV leader Geert Wilders says he wanted to stand up for the freedom of all Dutch people, including those with a Muslim background. He thinks it is “fine” that they visit mosques and read the Koran and calls that “a completely natural thing to do.” At the same time, he insists that Islam is a “reprehensible, hateful, and violent” religion.
The PVV’s election manifesto still contained proposals to ban mosques and the Koran. Wilders previously promised to put these plans on hold in order to remove constitutional objections to working with his party in the Cabinet formation.
“Those were not proposals inspired by hatred, aversion, or discrimination,” Wilders claimed in the debate about the failed formation round.
