Elections in the Netherlands
11:24 AM on November 24, 2023
The far-right “Freedom Party” represented by Geert Wilders won the most votes in the elections held in the Netherlands. His anti-Islam policies are raising concerns about rights and security, The Guardian reports.
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Geert Wilders described it as the “most beautiful day” of his political life. But for many in the Netherlands, news that Wilders’ far-right, anti-Islam party won the most votes in Wednesday’s election raised fears of what might lie ahead for the country once seen as a beacon of tolerance.
“These election results are shocking for Muslims in the Netherlands,” said Mushin Köktas, a Muslim-government liaison. “We did not expect that the support for a party with a program that contradicts the basic principles of the rule of law would be so high,” he adds.
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While at the helm of the Freedom Party, Wilders has long characterized Islam as a fascist ideology and called it a “backward culture and religion”. He has been under police surveillance since 2004 and was convicted of discrimination in 2016.
Although he tried to tone down his anti-Islamic rhetoric ahead of the election, the party’s manifesto includes a ban on mosques, the Koran and headscarves in government buildings. When the results were announced on Wednesday evening, Wilders promised to pursue policy “within the law and the constitution”.
“We are very concerned about the future of Islam and Muslims in the Netherlands,” Koktas said.
“The grief and fear is enormous,” said Habib El Kaddouri, who heads an organization representing Dutch Moroccans, adding, “Wilders is known for his anti-Muslim and anti-Moroccan ideas. We fear that he will position us as second-class citizens.”
While it is not yet known whether Wilders will be able to muster enough support to form a majority or become prime minister, he has been dubbed the Dutch version of Donald Trump. “I don’t know if Muslims are still safe in the Netherlands,” El Kadduri told the ANP news agency. “I’m worried about this country,” he added.
The leader of the minority rights party Denk, Stephan van Baarle, refused to congratulate Wilders on his success in the elections. “The fact that the ‘Freedom Party’ won the majority of votes threatens a million Muslims in the Netherlands,” he told broadcaster Nos. “Mr Wilders wants to disenfranchise them,” he added, describing the election results as “a threat to our rule of law” and deserved no congratulations. “This is the reason to fight against discrimination even harder,” he said.
On Wednesday evening, Wilders said he would try to live up to the expectations of his voters and promised that “the Netherlands will be returned to the Dutch, the asylum tsunami and migration will be curbed”.
The Dutch Refugee Council’s tough stance on asylum has caused consternation. In a statement, the non-governmental organization said it was “deeply concerned about people fleeing war and violence when a party that clearly advocates an asylum ‘freeze’ has become the largest in the Netherlands”.
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Mohammed Aknin, a prominent Muslim leader in Tilburg, said he spent Wednesday evening responding to WhatsApp messages from concerned community members. “People fear that headscarves, for example, will soon be banned.”
What will happen next is anyone’s guess, he told public broadcaster Omroep Brabant. “A fox changes its coat, but not its cunning,” he added.
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2023-11-24 09:45:59
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