Amsterdam: Handling of sharia group criticised

Amsterdam: Sharia4Holland issue death threats against Wilders, passer-by arrested

  

(Sharia4Holland press conference, Passer-by intervened at around 4:20) 

Via Expatica: 

Amsterdam VVD councillor, Robert Flos, has criticised the police for the way they dealt with a hate speech on Dam Square on Friday.

On local television channel AT5, the councillor says the police failed to arrest the Sharia4Holland speakers, who made death threats aimed at Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders and arrested a passer-by who tried to enter a discussion with the speakers.

Mr Flos points out that making death threats is a criminal offence. The passer-by was heavy-handedly removed from the scene. The councillor told AT5 he was shocked but “a message of intolerance can even be made next to our monument of freedom.”

(source)

The group's spokesman was meanwhile arrested.  Via DutchNews:

Amsterdam police have arrested the 29-year-old spokesman for radical Islamic group Sharia4Holland for making threats against MP Geert Wilders.

In an impromptu press conference on Dam square in Amsterdam on Friday, the man likened Wilders to a Roman dog and warned him to learn the lesson of what happened to Theo van Gogh. Van Gog was killed by an Islamic militant.

(source)

READ MORE - Amsterdam: Handling of sharia group criticised

Somalia: Al-Shabab plotting attack in Netherlands, UK

Somalia: Al-Shabab plotting attack in Netherlands, UK

Via RNW:

A former commander of the Somali Al Qaeda-linked organisation al-Shabab has said that dormant cells in the Netherlands are secretly preparing terrorist attacks.

The commander, who left al-Shabab because of a dispute with its leaders, said the militant Islamist group is actively recruiting and training members of the Somali diaspora in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States to launch attacks in the countries where they have a residence permit.

(source)

READ MORE - Somalia: Al-Shabab plotting attack in Netherlands, UK

Netherlands: Dual nationality and burqa bans are still on the cards, says minister

Netherlands: Dual nationality and burqa bans are still on the cards, says minister

Via DutchNews:

It is up to MPs to decide whether to drop the proposed bans on dual nationality and the burqa, not the cabinet, home affairs minister Liesbeth Spies told parliament on Tuesday evening.

Spies said two weeks ago in an interview with the Volkskrant that as far as she is concerned, both pieces of legislation can be dropped.

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Dual nationality and burqa bans are still on the cards, says minister

Netherlands: Immigration minister plans speedier and tougher asylum process

Netherlands: Immigration minister plans speedier and tougher asylum process

Via DutchNews:

Immigration minister Gerd Leers is planning to tighten up the procedure for vetting asylum seekers and make it faster by cutting out several layers of the current process, he told the Volkskrant in an interview on Tuesday.

Leers wants asylum seekers to be vetted on all grounds, such as family life, medical condition and the situation in the country of origin, in one go. Their asylum claim could then be considered in one day, the minister says.

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Immigration minister plans speedier and tougher asylum process

Groningen : Asylum seekers' protest camp grows

Groningen : Asylum seekers' protest camp grows

Via Expatica:

A campsite in the province of Groningen inhabited by rejected asylum seekers continues to grow as more people join the protest.

Around 300 asylum seekers are living in tents in Ter Apel. The group has gathered to protest their impending deportations; a spokesperson for the applicants said he expects the camp to continue to grow.

(source)

READ MORE - Groningen : Asylum seekers' protest camp grows

Netherlands: Moroccan 'lover boys'

Netherlands: Moroccan 'lover boys'

 


Via Al-Jazeera (h/t Snaphanen):

As part of his research, Bovenkerk sent a group of field researchers to talk to prostitutes in De Wallen, Amsterdam's red light district.

They discovered that a significant number of women had been recruited as young girls by second- and third-generation immigrant boys, largely in places where youngsters gather in outlying villages.

And a series of interviews with convicted 'Lover Boys' suggested some of them had been influenced by American TV images and video clips glamorising relations between pimps and their girls.

The interview evidence, coupled with an analysis of police CCTV footage, led Bovenkerk to estimate that there were around 100 'Lover Boys' operating in Amsterdam. In all likelihood, he concluded, 'Lover Boys' usually run more than one girl at a time so there could in fact be several hundred 'legal' prostitutes working for them.

Bovenkerk insists that although 'Lover Boys' do exist, media reports are often exaggerated and hard to prove. And, with such issues quickly picked up by right-wing groups, their existence becomes a convenient tool for those with an anti-immigrant agenda.

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Moroccan 'lover boys'

Netherlands: Turkish singer goes back home after Schiphol questioning

Netherlands: Turkish singer goes back home after Schiphol questioning

Via DutchNews:

A Dutch concert by popular Turkish singer Arif Sag was cancelled this weekend after he gave up an returned home after lengthy questioning by officials at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

According to the Telegraaf, Sag was furious at being questioned and made to wait for so long that he took the first plane back home. Turkish papers described his treatment as 'scandalous', the Telegraaf said. 

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Turkish singer goes back home after Schiphol questioning

Amsterdam: Moroccan woman attacked in racist incident

Amsterdam: Moroccan woman attacked in racist incident

Via Parool h/t NRP:

A pregnant Moroccan woman out walking with her Surinamese boyfriend was attacked March 26th.  The attackers, five Moroccans in their twenties, followed the couple, and called the woman a 'nigger whore'.  Her boyfriend responded, which led to a fight.  The woman was also pushed, beaten and kicked.

The attackers were arrested and the woman was treated in hospital.  Her injuries seemed light, but a week later she went into premature labor and the baby did not survive.

READ MORE - Amsterdam: Moroccan woman attacked in racist incident

Netherlands: Get rid of that 'allochtoon' word, advisory group tells government

Netherlands: Get rid of that 'allochtoon' word, advisory group tells government

Via Dutch News:

The government should stop categorising the population of the Netherlands according to ethnicity and parental birth places, according to the government's advisory group on social development RMO, the Volkskrant reports on Tuesday.

Concepts such as niet-westerse allochtoon (literally non-western non-native) should be scrapped. Instead local councils should only record the birth place of the person concerned, rather than that of their parents, the RMO says.

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Get rid of that 'allochtoon' word, advisory group tells government

Netherlands: Dutch to ditch burqa ban

Netherlands: Dutch to ditch burqa ban


Via RNW:

Interior Minister Liesbeth Spies says the burqa ban she helped prepare can be scrapped along with a proposed ban on holding dual citizenship.

Now that the cabinet’s fallen, she "wouldn’t shed a tear" if parliament were to scrap the controversial Freedom Party-sponsored bill. "Now that the cabinet’s fallen, there’s no longer any payoff," she told national daily de Volkskrant on Wednesday.

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Dutch to ditch burqa ban

Netherlands: Moroccan, Polish criminals speak each other's language

Netherlands: Moroccan, Polish criminals speak each other's language

Via De Telegraaf:

Acting police chief in the Haaglanden district, Paul van Musscher, says that Moroccan youth speak with their criminal colleagues in Polish and vice versa.

Van Musscher says this shows there's a melting pot in the neighborhoods and that they have close contacts with each other as they enter the criminal world.  "By speaking each other's language you create new trade relations.  This is truly a 'VOC mentality' of which Balkenende will probably not be proud."

Former Dutch PM Balkenende used the term 'VOC mentality' (Dutch East India Company) to encourage Dutch entrepreneurship.

READ MORE - Netherlands: Moroccan, Polish criminals speak each other's language

Netherlands: Minister takes on discrimination in discos

Netherlands: Minister takes on discrimination in discos

Via RNW:

Integration Minister Gerd Leers is planning to tackle pubs, restaurants and discos which discriminate against people with a non-Dutch background.

He has told parliament that he intends to discuss with police and city councils what can be done to combat discrimination. He doesn’t rule out carrying out undercover operations and withdrawing licences. Mr Leers also wants something done about temping agencies that discriminate.

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Minister takes on discrimination in discos

Netherlands: More jihadist trips in 2011

Netherlands: More jihadist trips in 2011


Via RNW:

In 2011, more Dutch citizens travelled to conflict regions to take part in Islamist insurgencies than in previous years.

In its annual report, which was published on Thursday, the Dutch intelligence service AIVD writes that Dutch jihadists were also increasingly successful in linking up with senior members of international Islamist networks.

READ MORE - Netherlands: More jihadist trips in 2011

Utrecht: Muslims censor sexy posters

Utrecht: Muslims censor sexy posters




Via RNW:

In Utrecht, sexy posters have been covered up and a message stuck across them. Many people are annoyed at what they see as "Muslim censorship", others are surprised it hasn’t been done before.

In Kanaleneiland, a predominantly Muslim area of Utrecht, a poster advertising the open museum weekend has been covered by a black bag. The poster shows a woman in a short pink strapless dress. A message reading 'La ilahe il Allah – No Sexually Tinted Advertising In Our Suburbs. Stand Up And Fight Against This Case To Protect Our Children!' is plastered across the bag.

Another poster showing a woman in a bikini in the distance walking on a beach has also been covered up. The next day the cover had been taken off, but angry reactions had already started appearing on the internet. Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders even asked questions in parliament about this 'Islamic censorship'.

(source)

READ MORE - Utrecht: Muslims censor sexy posters

Netherlands: Handshake Muslim loses court case

Netherlands: Handshake Muslim loses court case

Via DutchNews:

Rotterdam council was right not to offer lawyer Mohammed Enait the job of client manager after he refused to shake hands with women, a court in The Hague said on Tuesday afternoon.

Enait had applied for the job at the social services department but said he would not shake hands with women on religious grounds. However, he would greet them in another respectful fashion, he said.

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Handshake Muslim loses court case

Netherlands: Dutch-Turkish boat to take part in Gay Pride

Netherlands: Dutch-Turkish boat to take part in Gay Pride

Via RNW:

A Turkish boat will take part in the 2012 Amsterdam Gay Pride boat parade known as Canal Pride.
This will the first time a Turkish boat takes part in Canal pride, which is scheduled to take place on 4 August.

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Dutch-Turkish boat to take part in Gay Pride

Netherlands: Ministers agree new rules to reduce forced marriages

Netherlands: Ministers agree new rules to reduce forced marriages

Via DutchNews:

Ministers on Friday agreed to tighten up the laws on marriage in the hope of reducing forced marriages, particularly those involving minors.

Ministers have agreed to stop the under-18s getting married in the Netherlands. In addition, officials will only recognise marriages involving minors which were carried out abroad if both partners are 18 when they apply to have their wedding approved in the Netherlands.

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Ministers agree new rules to reduce forced marriages

Brussels: Pro-Assad protest

Brussels: Pro-Assad protest

250 people gathered for a pro-Assad demonstration in Brussels this weekend. The protest was an initiative of the Dutch and Belgian Syrian communities. (see video)

READ MORE - Brussels: Pro-Assad protest

Netherlands: Town vandalized with pro-Moroccan, anti-Dutch slogans

Netherlands: Town vandalized with pro-Moroccan, anti-Dutch slogans

22 cars were vandalized with white paint in the town of Zundert last night. The vandals also hit walls, fences and a school playground with pro-Moroccan, anti-Dutch slogans.

READ MORE - Netherlands: Town vandalized with pro-Moroccan, anti-Dutch slogans

Netherlands: Turkish woman candidate for Labour Party leader

Netherlands: Turkish woman candidate for Labour Party leader

Via Sunday's Zaman (h/t Turkish Digest):

One of the five candidates is Nebahat Albayrak, who moved to the Netherlands in 1970 after being born in Sarkışla in 1968. For years now, Albayrak has been the most visible and successful Dutch politician with Turkish roots. She was a member of parliament from 1998 until 2007 before becoming a junior minister responsible for Justice in the last Balkenende cabinet. In 2010 she was the number two on the Labour Party list behind Cohen. Now she wants to go for number one.

Polls show that two of her male competitors are doing better but because of the peculiar voting system used, some analysts predict that Albayrak stands a good chance of ending up on top. That is because members will not only be asked to indicate who their favorite party leader is, but also who their second and third options are. Albayrak most probably will not get the most number one votes, but will gather a lot of second preferences. These might bring her victory in the end because with five candidates running, it is not likely that any candidate will get more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round.

Having a Dutch Turkish woman as the leader of one of the established parties would be a welcome answer to the rising tide of Islamophobia that is so often associated with the Netherlands these days.

(source)

READ MORE - Netherlands: Turkish woman candidate for Labour Party leader