Press Release
Is the Attack on the Moroccan Family in Almere a Passing Occurrence or is it a Result of the Policies of the Dutch Government?
(Translated)

This morning, a person named Safa Marwa has tweeted on Twitter saying: People wrote racist remarks on the walls of a house for Moroccans in the city of Almere; known for its calmness and tolerance. They painted on it the Nazi swastika symbol, and wrote the phrase "Get out" on the walls.

The expressions of hatred and intimidation against Islam and even inciting Muslims, is only the result of the policies of raising the public opinion against Muslims pursued by the state and the politicians in this country. Thus, a Muslim football player in the ICA Club in the city of Arnhem had been exposed to some of the Dutch saying "fewer, fewer"; the words chanted by some supporters of Geert Wilders, who is known for his hatred for Muslims, when he asked them "Do you want more or fewer Moroccans in this city", they answered: "fewer, fewer". Since then the phrase, "fewer, fewer", became vocalized by the tongues in the Netherlands. The same happened with the student Ameen Asher, the son of 11 years of the city Tilburg, who recently has suffered a similar position by his colleagues in the school who were chanting the phrases "fewer, fewer".

An opinion poll conducted recently has shown that 43% of Dutch people want a limited presence of Moroccans in the Netherlands, and 65 % of the Dutch promoting the deportation of non-European immigrants back to their country. This is in addition to many parties that support such actions. So it is not surprising that these polls influence the followers and supporters of those parties. Rather, the remarks of Geert Wilders about the presence of fewer Moroccans were endorsed by Philippe de Venter, the leader of the Belgian "Vlaams" Party, who designed a video game where the player goes on hitting Muslims with a stick and putting up posters calling for the banning of mosques.

Despite the fact that the Dutch government deliberately conceals the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: "All people are born free and equal in dignity and rights They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood". And despite that the Dutch society is considered by all as a pluralistic and multicultural society, all the evidences suggest that there is no place for Islam in this society. This was clearly expressed by the King of Spain King Philip II when he said: "equality for all people, but the person who does not accept the idea of equality, he should leave". As a result of this policy, Islamic symbols such as the Khimar (head scarf) were banned, and led to the ethnic cleansing of the Moriscos Muslims in Spain.

The current integration policy is not different. It imposes on the citizens how they think and how they behave, rather than accepting them as they are. Islam, on the other hand, does not intend to change or suppress those who disagree with it by force to make them leave their beliefs and principles. Rather, Islam recognizes that not all people will embrace its creed. In Islam, the just divine laws provide an opportunity for different cultures and religions to live in one community in peace, Allah the Almighty says in Surah Al-Mumtahina:

[لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ]

"Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly." [Al-Mumtahina: 8]

As a Muslim community, we are in dire need to appear united against all these abuses that are offensive to us and to our Deen. Thus the abuse to our Moroccan Brother is an abuse to all Muslims. And the attack on one Muslim is an attack on the entire Muslim community; since the abuse or the attack on anyone of us is only because we are Muslims. It is essential that we maintain our identity, expose the anti-Islamic policies and challenge the secular liberal ideas that are unable to accept those with different views. We must provide Islam as an authentic alternative to non-Muslims to live with us a life filled with tranquility and harmony.

Okay Pala
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in the Netherlands