Clothing
Dutch ‘burqa ban’ rendered largely unworkable on first day (LINK ONLY)
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Netherlands
Clothing
Burqas banned in Dutch government buildings — what will it mean in practice?
(Dutch News) A ban on wearing face-covering garments such as a burqa or niqab in government buildings, schools and on public transport comes into effect in the Netherlands on Thursday. The ban has been 13 years in the making and dates back […]
Clothing
Burqa ban, introduced on August 1, to be evaluated in three years
(Dutch News) The ban on wearing face-covering garments such as a burqa or niqab in government buildings and on public transport will be evaluated after three years, rather than the customary five, broadcaster NOS said on Wednesday. The ban, 13 years in […]
Clothing
Police want alternative for burka wearers after ban; against the law, says ministry
(NL Times) The police want to offer an alternative for burka or niqab wearers who want to come to a police station to make a report after the ban on face-covering clothing takes effect on August 1st. A police directive states that […]
Clothing
Dutch transport firms won’t enforce ‘unworkable’ burka ban
(Dutch News) Dutch public transport companies have instructed staff to ignore a new policy that refuses entry to Muslim women who wear the face-covering burka, the AD reports. The new legislation, which will come into effect on August 1, will not be […]
Clothing
Burka ban comes into effect next month, wearers face fines of €150
(Dutch News) The so-called burka ban comes into effect in the Netherlands on August 1, with a €150 fine for people caught wearing face-covering headgear in schools, on public transport, in hospitals and public buildings. The ban requires public officials and public […]
Academics & Education
Minister to withdraw funding from Islamic school if board does not change
(Dutch News) Education minister Arie Slob has announced that he will stop funding to the Cornelius Haga Lyceum, an Islamic middle school in Amsterdam, if the current board remains in place. Slob announced that only a new school management can “put the […]
Academics & Education
Ten requests to open Islamic middle school[s] turned down last year
(Dutch News) All 10 requests to open new Islamic secondary schools last year were reportedly turned down, according to figures from education body DUO. The NOS broadcaster says that the requests all came from four cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, […]
Academics & Education
Dutch intelligence boss speaks out about Islamic school controversy
(NL Times) Intelligence and security service AIVD underestimated the social impact its official report earlier this year on Amsterdam Islamic high school Cornelius Haga Lyceum would have, AIVD director Dick Schoof said to the Volkskrant. The service warned Amsterdam that the school wanted to […]
Government & Politics
Prosecutor wants Wilders to pay €5,000 fine for anti-Moroccan remarks
(Dutch News) “Do you want more or fewer Moroccans?” PVV leader Geert Wilders asked a crowd in 2014. “Fewer, fewer, fewer,” they shouted. “Then we will arrange that,” he told them. It is those comments that have repeatedly landed Wilders in court […]
Legal
Suspect again confesses to Utrecht mass shooting in first hearing, denounces laws, judges
(NL Times) Gokmen T. again confessed to being responsible for a mass shooting on a tram in Utrecht and killing four people during the first pro-forma hearing in the case against him on Monday. He also denounced the Dutch legal system. “I […]
Academics & Education
New inquiry at Islamic school over leaked footage of preacher
(Dutch News) Education inspectors have launched another investigation at Amsterdam’s only Islamic secondary school amid claims that a pupil was suspended for allegedly filming teachers in class. Two weeks ago a film was leaked to Het Parool in which a teacher at […]
Government & Politics
Apology, damage payment sought in Geert Wilders hate speech trial
(NL Times) On the second day of the appeal in the hate-speech trial against PVV leader Geert Wilders on Thursday, claimants could demand compensation from the politician and explain why they think they deserve it. Demands ranged from apologies to actual monetary amounts between […]
Government & Politics
Wilders ‘fewer Moroccans’ case to restart, judges dismiss interference claim
(Dutch News) Appeal court judges will … restart hearings in the Geert Wilders “fewer Moroccans” case, after rejecting claims of political interference. Wilders had tried to get the court to question former justice minister Ivo Opstelten, in the wake of reports … […]
Government & Politics
Dutch lawmaker Wilders appeals ‘fewer Moroccans’ conviction
(Reuters) Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders on Tuesday called for either an acquittal or a procedural delay in his appeal against a 2016 conviction for inciting discrimination against Moroccans. “This trial has every appearance of being politically motivated. Stop the witch hunt!” […]
Government & Politics
Wilders’ appeal in anti-Moroccan [case] due to restart, despite interference claims
(Dutch News) Appeal court judges are due today to begin hearings in the Geert Wilders “fewer Moroccans” case, as the PVV leader re-starts an appeal against his earlier conviction. However, recent claims of possible political interference may result in further delays to […]
Citizenship
Syrian civil war fighter in court to stop government revoking his nationality
(Dutch News) A court is due to decide whether a 25-year-old man who fought in the civil war in Syria should have his passport revoked even though he is no longer seen as a terrorist threat. Maher H. has been in an […]
Government & Politics
Terror threat level still ‘substantial’ in Netherlands
(NL Times) There is a very real concern in the Netherlands regarding potential terror attacks, particularly from ISIS recruits and jihadists, right-wing extremists, and radical activists, according to Dutch counter-terror office NCTV. Because of this, the terror threat level in the country […]
Government & Politics
Witness scared to testify in nationalist politician’s hate-speech trial, lawyer says
(NL Times) A former civil servant who was going to testify in the hate speech trial against PVV leader Geert Wilders decided to not testify after all, according to Wilders’ lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops. The man is afraid that he will be prosecuted […]
Academics & Education
Inspectors find no evidence of hard-line Islam at Amsterdam school
(Dutch News) Senior staff at Amsterdam’s Islamic secondary school have been involved in financial misconduct but there is no hard evidence that the school is indoctrinating pupils in the fundamentalist form of Islam know as “Salafism,” according to a report by school […]
Academics & Education
Bankrupt Islamic college stripped of title and right to award grades
(Dutch News) An Islamic further education college has been stripped of its title and been barred from awarding grades to its students by education minister Ingrid van Engelshoven. Van Engelshoven was responding to a report by the education inspectorate into management and […]
Government & Politics
Dutch gov’t pushes €3.5 million into anti-terrorism measures at train stations: report
(NL Times) The government is investing 3.5 million euros into counter-terrorism measures at six train stations in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, among others, the Telegraaf reported on Tuesday. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management would not say exactly which train […]
Children & Teens
Minister defends deal to bring orphans back from Syria: no change in policy
(Dutch News) Anti-immigration MPs have criticised the government’s decision to bring two orphans, aged two and four, back to the Netherlands from a Syrian camp after their jihadi parents died. On Monday it emerged that French officials picked up the two Dutch […]
Government & Politics
Wilders calls for inquiry after claims of trial political interference
(Dutch News) PVV leader Geert Wilders is calling for a parliamentary inquiry into possible political interference in his trial for discrimination and inciting hatred against people with a Moroccan background. Broadcaster RTL Nieuws and the Telegraaf newspaper have both reported that there […]
Children & Teens
14 French, Dutch children repatriated from Syria
(AFP) Twelve children of French jihadists, most of them orphans, were flown home Monday from camps in Syria, along with two Dutch orphans who were handed over to the Netherlands, the foreign ministry said in Paris. The latest repatriations of foreigners from […]
Demonstrations
Eindhoven must allow anti-Islam Pegida demonstration, ombudsman says
(NL Times) Mayor John Jorritsma of Eindhoven must allow Pegida to demonstrate in the city, according to National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen. By banning a protest the anti-Islam movement requested for Thursday, the mayor “damages Pegida’s fundamental right” to demonstrate, van Zutphen […]
Demonstrations
Eindhoven bans demonstration by anti-Islam movement Pegida
(NL Times) Mayor John Jorritsma of Eindhoven decided not to allow a demonstration by anti-Islam movement Pegida in the city on Thursday. According to the mayor, there are concerns that the demonstration will lead to a serious disruption of public order, RTL […]
Clothing
Dutch government makes fight against anti-Semitism a national priority
(JTA) The Dutch government has allocated $3.35 million toward fighting anti-Semitism — the first time Holland has placed the fight on its list of national priorities. The funding, earmarked earlier this week during budget talks among members of the ruling coalition, establishes […]
Government & Politics
Twitter suspends populist politician Geert Wilders
(NL Times) Twitter temporarily suspended the account of PVV leader Geert Wilders, due to a tweet he posted about the D66, according to screenshots tweeted by other PVV members. The company informed the anti-Islam, populist politician that he violated their “rules against […]
Children & Teens
Ten arrested in clashes with anti-Islam Pegida, police
(NL Times) A demonstration by controversial anti-Islam organization Pegida near a mosque in Eindhoven turned more sinister on Sunday, with ten counter-protestors taken into custody. Four police officers suffered minor injuries in confrontations down the road from the Al-Fourqaan Mosque. The ten […]
Crime
Asylum minister Mark Harbers resigns over refugee crime report
(Dutch News) Asylum minister Mark Harbers has resigned during a debate with MPs about a report in which figures about the number of refugees suspected of violent crimes were “hidden.” Harbers told MPs that he felt responsible for the report, in which […]
Government & Politics
West hit by 112 terrorist attacks in 15 years: Dutch intelligence service
(NL Times) A total of 112 terrorist attacks were committed in Western countries over the past 15 years. Three-quarters of these happened in the last five years, a strong increase related to the rise of terrorist organization Islamic State since 2014, according […]
Law Enforcement
Dutch arrest suspected Jabhat al-Nusra battalion commander
(Dutch News) A suspected commander of a terrorist Jabhat al-Nusra battalion has been arrested in the Netherlands, police said on Tuesday afternoon. The man, who is 47 and has Syrian nationality, was arrested in the small town of Kapelle in Zeeland on […]
Children & Teens
Talks under way to bring women and children back from Syria to face trial
(Dutch News) Talks have begun between the Netherlands and Iraq to repatriate 10 women and their children being held in Kurdish refugee camps after they went to join the civil war in Syria. The Dutch government is trying to organise safe passage […]
Books
Former far-right politician who converted to Islam says EU must be realistic about immigration Joram van Klaveren worries that the ideas he contributed to may become policies after the next EU elections
(National-UAE) With Europeans approaching the next parliamentary vote split down the middle on the benefits of immigration, few can claim to have the perspective possessed by Joram van Klaveren. As a spokesman for right-wing Geert Wilders’s anti-immigration Party for Freedom (PVV) a […]
Crime
Muslim anti-Semitism increases the threat facing Europe’s Jews
(IPT) In Amsterdam, where a Syrian refugee twice last year shattered the windows of a kosher restaurant, men leaving synagogue remind each other to remove their yarmulkes before going out into the street. It is too dangerous to be seen wearing one. […]
Holidays
Prisoners in solitary confinement after disrupting two minutes’ silence
(Dutch News) A number of prisoners held in the terrorist wing of the high-security prison in Vught have been placed in solitary confinement after they made an apparently coordinated effort to disrupt the two minutes’ silence on Remembrance Day. They will remain […]
Children & Teens
More Dutch women and children in Syrian camps as fighting continues
(Dutch News) There are now 55 Dutch adults, of whom three-quarters are women, living in Syrian Kurdish camps or in detention, together with 85 children, the Dutch security service AIVD said on Thursday. Many of the children were born in the region, […]
Government & Politics
Mass shooter assaulted prison worker weeks before Utrecht attack
(NL Times) Gokmen T., the suspected gunman in a mass shooting in Utrecht on March 18th, assaulted a prison employee a few weeks before the attack on 24 Oktoberplein, Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security said in a letter to the […]
Arts & Entertainment
Western Europe’s rap scene has an anti-Semitism problem
(JTA) On a warm summer day in Oslo last year, Kaveh Kholardi heartily greeted spectators at a city-organized concert celebrating diversity. Kholardi, a popular Norwegian rapper of Iranian descent, wished his fellow Muslims “Eid Mubarak,” a greeting in Arabic for the Eid […]
Clerics & Preachers
Fine couples who first enter into religious marriage: Dutch MPs
(NL Times) A legislative proposal submitted by the VVD and GroenLinks wants to fine people who enter into a religious marriage, specifically an Islamic marriage, before they are legally married. By tightening the rules, the parties hope to prevent women being left […]
Citizenship
Dutch were wrong to strip jihadis of their Dutch nationality, highest court says
(Dutch News) The Dutch government was wrong to strip Dutch nationality from two convicted jihadis because the law making it possible was only introduced in 2017, the Council of State said on Wednesday. The two men joined jihadi groups in Iraq and […]
Legal
Dutch sentence two for ammo in foiled French attack plot
(AFP) Dutch judges on Monday sentenced two men to one year and nine months respectively over ammunition provided for use in a foiled 2016 terror attack in France. Five suspects were charged after Dutch police raided a home in the western port […]
Children & Teens
Parents start legal battle to bring Syrian fighters home
(Dutch News) The parents of Dutch citizens who left to fight in the war in Syria have launched a foundation to try to force the government to help them return to the Netherlands. Around 20 parents have joined non-profit foundation De Achterblijvers, […]
Government & Politics
Dutch ask US for clarity on visas for lawyers working on terror cases
(Dutch News) Foreign minister Stef Blok has asked the US to explain reports that several Dutch lawyers have been refused a visa for the US because of their work defending terrorism suspects, the Volkskrant said on Friday. “It is of great importance […]
Children & Teens
ISIS husband of Shamima Begum says he wants to return to the Netherlands with her so they can live a ‘normal life’ and ‘regrets’ going to Syria (LINK ONLY)
Eye on Islamism is no longer printing excerpts from articles published by certain news sources. To read the original article, click here.
Legal
Lawyers drop terrorism case after US visa concerns
(Dutch News) Two lawyers have pulled out of one [of] the Netherlands’ biggest terrorism cases because they are worried their involvement will have an impact on travelling to the US, RTL Nieuws said on Thursday. “I do not want to be limited […]
Legal
Dutch lawyer ‘refused US visa’ because of terrorism defence work
(Dutch News) Dutch lawyer Serge Weening has been banned from entering the US, possibly because he has defended several terrorism suspects, law journal Advocatenblad said this week. Weening is one of the lawyers involved in the defence of an alleged terrorist cell […]
Academics & Education
Radical preachers have increasing influence in Dutch education, intelligence service warns
(NL Times) Dutch intelligence service AIVD warns of radical influences in education in its annual report for 2018. According to the service, “radical Islamic boosters” play an increasingly emphatic role in the education offer[ed] for young Muslims in the Netherlands. In the […]
Academics & Education
Dutch ban on face coverings delayed to start of August
(Dutch News) The ban on facial coverings in public spaces has been delayed by a month and will now take effect on August 1, home affairs minister Kajsa Ollongren has said. The so-called “burka ban” will apply in schools, universities, government buildings […]