Anti-Muslim backlash grows in Netherlands

Kneeling in the sodden, charred remains of the primary school, Hari Boukameans took a Stanley knife to a melted computer. He twisted and he gouged -- trying to recover the hard drive, hoping to salvage a little bit of the precious Dutch culture of live and let live from the flames of hatred that consumed his workplace.

The Moroccan gave up. He slumped in the smelly, black mass of ashes. "This is really evil," he groaned. Spray painting a white cross and White Power slogans on to the grey brick walls of the Muslim school the previous night, Dutch racists had set the place ablaze. The fire gutted the school and traumatised this comfortable town of 40 000 in the middle of the Netherlands.

"We never used to have problems here. Now everything is destroyed," said the computer engineer as teachers embraced in tears and strangers arrived from neighbouring towns bearing flowers and cards.

Uden is in mourning for the loss of its only Islamic school. And the Netherlands is in mourning for the loss of its innocence and optimism after the murder by a Moroccan Islamist of the film-maker and Muslim-baiter Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam 10 days ago. "Normally you see this sort of thing on the television, from Amsterdam or from a foreign country," said Jacques Bonnier (39), a financial adviser in the town. "Now it's come to your own town and to your own life. What comes next?"

When thousands assembled to grieve for Van Gogh in Amsterdam this week, they pleaded to no one in particular: "Give us back our old Holland." But Boukameans fears that the old Netherlands he has enjoyed for 31 years lies buried among the cinders of Uden, where 120 Muslim under-12s no longer have a school to go to.

The Netherlands is grappling with its worst epidemic of ethnic and religious violence and is struggling to come to terms with what it means for a country that prides itself on liberalism, openness and tolerance. "These fires and attacks are revenge for the murder of Van Gogh," said Stefaan, an 18-year-old student. "Ordinary people are looking for revenge, educated people are saying that's not the way we do things here. We prefer to make deals. But times are changing. It's a kind of war."

From marijuana cafes to euthanasia, prostitution to immigration, the Netherlands has long been Europe's pioneer liberal, secure in a political culture that shuns confrontation and prizes consensus. But political violence first shook the system two years ago when the maverick populist politician Pim Fortuyn was assassinated. The murder of Van Gogh, who revered Fortuyn, shared his contempt for over-generous Dutch hospitality, and specialised in verbal hooliganism against Muslims, has come as an even bigger jolt and triggered a national bout of agonising centred on the question: "What's wrong with this country?"

The centre-right government which came to power following the Fortuyn killing thinks that the fabled fairmindedness of the Dutch has become part of the problem, that tolerance is no response to fatwas and fanaticism, that something must be done.

Over the past 10 days there have been some two dozen arson attacks on mosques, churches and schools -- a scale of violence unheard-of here -- as well as government and intelligence revelations about the menace of alleged Islamist terrorism in the heart of the Netherlands.

In the biggest security operations seen here in decades, 13 suspects have been arrested -- mostly Arabs but including two teenage brothers of mixed Dutch-American parentage who converted to Islam -- in connection with the Van Gogh murder and other alleged terrorist plotting.

On Friday at the Parliament in The Hague there was traditional Dutch consensus between government and opposition on tougher measures to combat terrorism and racism and to crack down on immigration. Dozens of the country's 500 mosques may be closed down. It was proposed that only Dutch-trained imams be licensed to run mosques. The security and intelligence services are to be expanded. Police powers of search and arrest are to be expanded. Websites and broadcasters inciting hatred could be censored.

"It's better to have 10 possibly innocent people temporarily in jail than one with a bomb in the street," said Maxime Verhagen of the governing Christian Democrats.

The prime minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, characterised the last 10 days of violence and tension as simply "un-Dutch". It is also "un-Dutch" to speak out provocatively on matters of race and religion. But Fortuyn and Van Gogh made their mark by breaching the taboos of political correctness. Others are following suit.

The influential former EU commissioner Frits Bolkestein is repeatedly warning of the impact of Muslim immigration. Compulsory "integration" of Muslims is becoming the government's watchword.

The Muslim population, mainly from Morocco and Turkey, is almost one million, or 6%, commonly double that in the big cities. If nothing is done, according to Bolkestein, cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht will have "non-European" majorities within a couple of generations. "The most common first name registered at birth these days in Amsterdam is Mohammed," he recently told the International Herald Tribune. "This, they say, is the Europe-to-be."

Ismael Taspina heatedly contests that view and says that such outspokenness is dangerous. The director of the Uden school and of a further seven Islamic schools in the central Dutch region of Brabant argues that freedom of speech may be very well. "But when we have all these different backgrounds, maybe we should have limits on what you can say. I am from Turkey. But I feel Dutch, I think Dutch. I dream Dutch. I am Dutch. I'm a Dutch Muslim."

To his admirers, Van Gogh is a martyr to freedom of speech. To his many detractors, Van Gogh was a loudmouthed racist hungry for attention and himself a victim of the hatred he helped to foment.

In the school in Uden, the arsonists also spray painted "Theo RIP" alongside their White Power taunts. "We're not going to accept this. Things will get worse," said Suleiman Sinan, a Turkish teacher at the school.

"It's not just one incident," said Taspina. "This has been developing for years and now it is escalating. It's very deep."

...trying to recover the hard drive...

Trying to recover the hard drive or trying to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

Just what's on this hard drive that compels this man to recover it?

And the Netherlands is in mourning for the loss of its innocence and optimism after the murder by a Moroccan Islamist of the film-maker and Muslim-baiter Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam 10 days ago.

Okay... I am officially now waiting to hear the MSM use the term "Christian-baiter." Thank you very much.

""It's better to have 10 possibly innocent people temporarily in jail than one with a bomb in the street," said Maxime Verhagen of the governing Christian Democrats. Now hold up here Hoss, isn't this the VERY thing that the Dutch and the rest of the Euro weenie chicken$h!t ba$tards have been hollering and screaming at U.S. (us) about for the last 3 years? That Guantanamo Bay is immoral and wrong? What's the Problem o Dutch-know-better-liberals? Have you finally figured out that you MUST take terrorists off the streets if you want to walk down them safely? Have you just realized that these idiots will stop at NOTHING, including killing the innocent to make their stupid points? Oh, just had the lightbulb go off and tell you that this WILL find its way to YOUR door, despite your capitulations? You MUST give up your life, religion, way of life, alcohol, prostitution, Pot, and Pork, and convert to Islam if you want to compromise with these animals. Not willing to do that? Better look at arming your citizens then. You don't have any other choice.

Sounds like racial profiling to me. Shame on the Dutch! I expect they will solve the problem by forcing Van Gogh and Fortuyn's family to go to diversity training.

Okay... I am officially now waiting to hear the MSM use the term "Christian-baiter."

If and when the MSM labels terrorists "Christian-KILLERS", then maybe I'll begin to listen to them. But until then, they can "shove it".

"That's why I don't understant why they are letting so many Turkish immigrants into their country. It's as if they have become so liberal they want to prove it by allowing in a bunch of foreigners that will never fit in. Hopefully, those with a bit of sanity will demand an end to this invasion."

Yea. But we could say the same for Michigan and many other cities in USA. I am still waiting to hear when the some 8000 Muslim's from ex-soviet countries will be arriving, planted, and nurished in Philadelphia area not to far from where I live. Couretesy of the democractic party machine in Philly. Now in five years or so, when these new implants want to have daily prayers broadcasted to the chagrin of the local non-muslims, someone will start a similiar chain of events here. So many ASSHOLE* do gooders in all countries.

The Dutch are done, they really never meant much anyway, a bunch of grubby, fat, liberal, racists from the beginning...did have a few good painters, but that was a couple of centuries ago. The best they can hope for is to serve as the mine canaries for greater/lesser Europa and the stupidity of the Socialist mentality world-wide...IMO.
They are basically terminal!

murder by a Moroccan Islamist of the film-maker and Muslim-baiter Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam

WTF??? So his murderer is characterized as an "Islamist"--not terrorist, not criminal, nothing. But Van Gogh is characterized as a "Muslim-baiter" for creating a film which tells the truth about the horrible abuse women suffer in Muslim societies. If you tell the turh about Islam, you are "baiting" them to kill you. That fact is a total indictment of Islam as a cult of murder and evil, which must be banned in all of the West.

All politicians in Europe have this myth that Multicultural sociey is the way to go, they think that like in america (where I lived for twenty five years) will bring energy to our economies and more population means more taxes for them to spend. The reality is that people like me who emigrated had a great respect for the way the new country was run and we wanted to integrate and be part of it. Immigrants in Europe from outside the continent have no intention to integrate or they admire our way of life, They come from failed societies which with all their arrogance are not able to feed them , no islamic country in the last five hundred years has contributed to any invention (only four muslims have gotten a nobel prize for science)and with all their oil collectiveley are among the most ignorant and poor in the world. The European people didn't ask for this gift from their politicians, there is still time to solve the problem, kick all politicians in favor of this kind of immigration out of office, make sure that people who want to live in the EU submit to EU laws and traditions, or we won't keep them here , they can go back to what they like best.

"They are basically terminal!"
Well I would have to add to your list of their accomplishments, that they did provide an early model of commerce. They basically invented the stock market that so many of us reap gains from. I wish them and the rest of European nations no evil. Just wish they would start to wake the heck up, and see that they are no safer then we, and that Islam will be their downfull if they don't wake up.
And that they better start re-evaluating their mostly far left governments as being simply to far left, until they move more right in many ways, they will just continue to sink into the pit of ultra-socialism to a point they simply cannot climb out of. Of course the world of Islam awaits for this point to occure, to put the coup de grace to them.
Gotta run...........dinner awaits a growling belly.

There was a time in this country when the people who came here, assimilated. The left discourages that, now. Instead of the old melting pot, we're becoming 'multicultural' or balkanized. The left worldwide, with lots of help from the un have brought this about, in every westernized country, and then tried to tie our hands with pc nonsense.

Someone wisely said one day: WAR you either have it or you make it. If you have it,it's in your backyard, it falls in your holidays,...If you make it you pick the time the place and the rules,works better that way. The Dutch had a chance to make war with with the terrorists on their own terms in the weasels den. They chose to have it and now the war is in their backyard. May God...OOOps, they don't believe in Him anymore,May the the enlightened ones of the marijuana Cafe protect them.

It was the Muslims who declared "War Without End" thinking the rest of the World lacked the stomach to fight. Now Muslims realize that we will NOT roll over for them. Bring it Islamofascists. It will be YOUR END.

I feel bad for any innocent Muslims who get targeted by this backlash. But the backlash also serves a useful purpose, which is to force the innocent Muslims to actively choose sides either for or against the terrorists. When this finally happens, those who murder in the name of Islam will be in deep, deep doo-doo IMHO.

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