Posted on 11/11/2004 10:20:18 AM PST by untenured
A climate of fear and retribution
By our Internet desk, 8 November 2004
The bomb explosion at the Islamic school in Eindhoven spread fear among the Muslim community which has been targeted by a wave of hate attacks in recent days.
A radical group has threatened to make the Netherlands "pay dearly" for reprisals against Muslims following last week's murder by a suspected Islamist of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh. The warning by the little known group, calling itself al-Tawhid al-Islami, came in the wake of an explosion at an Islamic school in the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven.
Monday's blast, which damaged the school entrance doors but caused no injuries, was the latest in a series of attacks on Muslim targets after the murder of Van Gogh, a vocal critic of Islam. Three mosques were targeted by arsonists and two by vandals at the weekend, one of them daubed with offensive slogans and pig heads.
Some say the government's response has done little to calm the mood. Last week, for instance, Deputy Prime Minister Gerrit Zalm declared war on Islamic fundamentalism. Not a wise move, thinks freelance journalist Imad al-Qaqa:
"I think it's a bad move, because if you say that there is a war going on, you give carte blanche to people ready to resort to violence, in this case against Muslims. It's very dangerous to say that we are now at war against radical Islam. For the average Dutchman it's not at all clear what radical Islam is. They might see a mosque and think ‘this is a hideout for radicals, so let's burn it or plant a bomb inside.'"
"The message of the government should be that it is alert and that it's doing all it can to stop radicals," al-Qaqa adds. "Of course, that's a frightening thing to say, too, but it'll be far more positive than just declaring war on Muslims."
Oil on the fire
Some commentators believe Justice Minister Jan Piet Hein Donner should not have made public the letter that was pinned to the body of Theo van Gogh by the murderer, an Amsterdammer of Moroccan descent. They say the message, which declared a jihad and contained death threats against Dutch politicians, only served to add oil to the fire. But Imad al-Qaqa does not agree:
"I think it's always good to know what is going on in this society, so that people know what they and the government are up against."
The mayors of several major Dutch cities, including Eindhoven and the capital Amsterdam, have warned of further escalation. They announced on Monday that police patrols would be stepped up around Muslim houses of worship and Islamic schools, which had already been under surveillance since Van Gogh's murder.
Radicalisation
In a televised interview, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende condemned the latest attacks and appealed for an end to the spiral of violence. "We must avoid a climate of radicalisation. An attitude of 'us against them' will not get us far," he said.
A communiqué issued not much later by a shady Islamist group seemed to prove the prime minister's point. "We will not just stand by in the face of what is happening at our schools and mosques in Holland," a radical group has warned on an Islamic website. It asks the Dutch government to "stop Dutch television programmes which are hostile to Muslims, hurt their reputation and present them as terrorists".
Some 300,000 Dutch Muslims are of Moroccan descent. The authorities estimate that between three and five percent of all Dutch Muslims support radical ideas.
Imad al-Qaqa stresses that the Dutch people (population 16m) quickly need to come to terms with the 900,000 Muslims within their midst, and overcome existing prejudice.
"There's a Dutch expression saying ‘fear is a bad counsellor', and at present the Dutch appear to be afraid of what's going on, afraid of Islam and the growing presence of Muslims in the Netherlands. Islam is currently the second religion in this country and it is fastest growing of all faiths. Each year, 2000 Dutch nationals convert to Islam, and this frightens people. They feel there is now an open door which we can enter and which allows us to say we are against Muslims. No longer do they fear punishment for speaking their minds, even when they are discriminating."
Don't want to endanger the wittle mooselimbs.
"No longer do they fear punishment for speaking their minds"
Would that this were true.
Dear Radical Muslims: Did you ever wonder where the term "Mad Dutchman" came from?
I think it's a bad move, because if you say that there is a war going on, you give carte blanche to people ready to resort to violence, in this case against Muslims.
Is there a problem with that? Just about everyone is waging a war against Muslims. Any ideas as to why?
"it's not at all clear what radical Islam is".
Only to the morons like Imad al-Qaqa.
Imad al-Qaqa stresses that the Dutch people (population 16m) quickly need to come to terms with the 900,000 Muslims within their midst, and overcome existing prejudice.
16m Dutch quickly need to expel the 900,000 Muslims from their midst, to overcome the existing threat.
They might see a mosque and think ‘this is a hideout for radicals, so let's burn it or plant a bomb inside.
Sounds logical to me...
This could spiral out of control very quickly
Unlike some, I believe the Dutch people are going to do whatever necessary to drive Islam out. This is an extraordinary experiment, and they deserve our support.
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