Posted on 10/15/2005 8:02:04 PM PDT by NCjim
HOLLAND’S Muslims have responded with outrage to government proposals to ban the burqa, and there are fears that Rita Verdonk, the minister behind the move, will be added to a list of “enemies of Islam” targeted for assassination.
The country was on high alert yesterday after talk of a burqa ban coincided with the arrest of a group suspected of planning to murder two politicians.
Verdonk, known as “Iron Rita” for her hardline immigration policies, has been accused by Muslim groups of pandering to the far right by demanding an investigation into whether Holland should become the first European country to prohibit the burqa, a covering worn by some Muslim women that leaves only a strip of gauze for the eyes.
“A ban in certain circumstances seems quite sensible,” said a spokeswoman for Verdonk, who is minister of integration and immigration.
The investigation will include a study of how other European Union countries have dealt with the burqa. In Belgium some towns have imposed fines of £100 for women in burqas after complaints that the garments are “scary”, but no country has banned them.
Few Dutch Muslims wear a burqa, though the issue could prove explosive if Muslim radicals encourage their women to wear it in defiance of a ban.
For a country that has legalised gay marriage, prostitution, euthanasia and cannabis, Holland seems in no mood for compromise when it comes to applying tough laws on immigration.
A crackdown followed the murder last year of Theo van Gogh, the film-maker shot in Amsterdam in protest against a film he had made about the oppression of women in Muslim communities.
In a note skewered to Van Gogh’s chest, Mohammed Bouyeri, the 26-year-old killer who was jailed for life, left a list of “infidels” to be slaughtered, a threat that drove Geert Wilders, the conservative politician, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Muslim MP who appeared in Van Gogh’s film, into hiding.
They are under round-the-clock police protection but this has not stopped new death threats in the past few days. Last Friday police arrested seven people suspected of plotting to murder them and carry out other terrorist attacks on November 2, the anniversary of Van Gogh’s killing.
One of those arrested was Samir Azzouz, a 19-year-old of Moroccan origin, who in April was acquitted of charges of planning to attack Amsterdam airport and blow up a nuclear reactor. A spokeswoman for Verdonk acknowledged concerns that other supporters of Van Gogh’s killer might have added her name to the hit list.
The murder of Van Gogh provoked revenge attacks against mosques and prompted initiatives from Verdonk that have made Holland’s stance on immigration the strictest in Europe.
From being considered a bastion of multiculturalism, Holland these days is promoting “Dutchness” for all and penalties for people who refuse to fit in.
Verdonk, a former prison warden and head of state security who says her only hobby is work, has introduced Dutch language and culture classes for immigrants, who must pledge to observe the country’s liberal values even if this means respecting the rights of women and homosexuals, a baffling concept for some immigrants.
Verdonk, 50, the mother of two teenagers, has further outraged Muslims by expelling imams accused of promoting terrorism; defending a Dutch woman who ran over and crushed to death a Moroccan youth who had snatched her bag from her car; and cancelling a meeting with Muslim leaders who refused to shake her hand because she was a woman.
Another aspect of the crackdown was her order to revoke the residency permit of immigrants who commit petty crimes. Until recently the permits could be revoked only for serious offences like murder.
Verdonk declared in parliament last week that the “time of cosy tea-drinking” with Muslim groups had passed and argued that a ban on burqas might be needed in some circumstances on grounds of public safety. Police are concerned that a terrorist could use a burqa to conceal weapons or a bomb.
Members of the public have said that the burqa looks frightening and it was this that prompted Jan Creemers, the mayor of Maaseik in Belgium, to impose a ban in December 2004.
“Mainly old ladies would call me,” he said. “They were terrified, saying they had been sitting on a bench and when they turned around they all of a sudden saw these strange figures appearing all in black. They almost had heart attacks.”
Ebru Umar, a Dutch journalist and friend of Van Gogh, wrote recently on how she had confronted women wearing burqas and told them: “Why don’t you dress like me? You are scaring people.”
Muslim communities and human rights groups condemn the initiative. Nico Landman, an assistant professor of Islamic studies at the University of Utrecht, said a burqa ban might play into the hands of a small group of Muslim radicals. “They may actually encourage their women to wear burqas on the streets,” he said.
Immigration curbs
# “Dutchness test” requires immigrants to take classes in language and culture # Imams accused of promoting terrorism are expelled # Residency permits of immigrants accused of petty crime can be revoked # Visas for young brides marrying into closed immigrant communities will be reduced
Shoot'em. That way they can't come back.
What they should do is take the next logical step and ban Muslims!
Holland is reaping what it sowed. It's good to see that someone is trying to do something about it before it's too late. The interesting thing is, that the harder western civ pushes, the more likely Islam is to react. When they do, they will be shooting themselves in the foot. The violence Muslims react with will only serve to solidify and shore up the opposition to Islam. They will be proving that what westerners are saying about the dangers of Islam is correct. People will only take so much. If even Holland is starting to react like this, that proves there's a limit.
"Several decades ago, here was this obscure little Austrian who operated along the same linesÂ…"
Not quite. That little Austrian didn't belive others COULD fit in and, so, should be eliminated.
"...fines of £100..."
This should be immediately be modified to 10,000 pounds for the first offense, 20,000 for the second and offense and double the previous for each successive offense.
The ragheads would learn pretty quickly methinks.
"I hate the whole burqa thing, but banning them might be counter productive.
Think about it. What better way to identify and track radical muslims, muslims that refuse to integrate into the society they're living in, than by flagging the ones that wear burqas? It's as easy as tracking gang members by their tattoos.
Just track the burqa-clad ninnies back to their homes, and voila! You are almost guaranteed to have a potential male terrorist behind the closed doors.
Develop as much intelligence as you can about them, then, and only then, deport them."
Excellent comments and spot on, IMHO. Thank you.
It's only a matter of time.
"It's only a matter of time."
If so it is pretty much the Muslim's choice--everyone ELSE manages to get along.
Tough laws on immigration would be a total ban on Muslim and third world immigration. The Dutch will be an oppressed minority in their own homeland in a few decades, that is the only fact that matters. On closer examination these so-called tough policies on radical Islam are nothing more than attempts to make the de-Hollandization of the Netherlands palatable to the victims, sort of like calling gas outlets shower heads (I feel free to indulge since someone has already played the Nazi card).
Looks like it's "put up or shut up" time for the Dutch.
In a rare defense of Muslims; I just want to point out that many Muslims adhere to this because of their belief of any physical contact between members of the opposite sex could possibly lead to marital affairs or inappropriate pre-marital sex. He may have felt doubly resistant to shaking your hand in the presense of your husband. It could be a sign of respect by him non-verbally saying "this is your wife and I respect that and will not lay a hand on her".
Of course...the handshake most likely originated from warriors/knights extending their "weapons hand" to show that they were not brandishing a dagger or other small weapon to smite the other person(s). That CAN make you wonder about American/European Muslims who do not shake hands.
I want one to set on my Koran (I'm making paper mache pigs from the pages for Christmas stocking stuffers).
O.k the muslims must be kicked out nexted,if Holland wants
to survive.
Atleast there is a few sane europeans left trying to keep their country from turning into a muslim ghetto.
But its already too late. Within 20 years, there will be more muslims that dutch in the country.
The damage has already been done.
Especially given the high level of emigration by native Dutch these days.
Seriously, I recall actions by states to discourage welfare cases from moving to areas with high benefits by limiting their benefits to what they had received in their previous homes. Maybe Holland and other nations, including us, should consider the same thing with Muslim immigrants: we extend the same "tolerance" to their religions that their nations of origin extend to other religions. Since when in Saudi Arabia all must do as the Saudis, when in Holland or here, they must do as the Dutch or Americans. Not workable of course but seems fair.
No, I am not exaggerating. Click the pic, go to "last," and read backwards.
If you are not informed about this stuff, you will be made sick. If you are informed, you will be made mad, all over again.
Just a guess, but I suspect Integration was a recent addition to the title!
Have violation of burka ban be cause for deportation. That will put a stop to it real quick
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