Press Release
Response to Calls for Bans on Parties Calling for the Application of Shariah
(Translated)

The tone of the secular political parties that advocate banning anti-democratic Islamic parties, which work to undermine the democratic system, in order to impose the Islamic law as claimed by the politicians here; that tone increases. In this particular period, many of the parties that make up the Dutch Parliament (such as CDA Party, VVD Party, Christian Union Party and SGP Party), support the ban of these parties. The question that arises is: of which parties do the folk speak? Do they mean the Islamic parties? If so, what does banning the Islamic parties of the Muslim community in the Netherlands mean?

The call to ban political parties and taking the practical steps for that sake is truly considered a harsh policy of the state, which is rare in the Netherlands. The Dutch government has embarked on such a move in the past. Thus, after the liberation of the Netherlands from the German occupation in 1945, the Dutch government immediately banned the National Socialist Movement, and members of this movement were considered traitors and agents of Nazism.

One can only imagine the danger of the ideas that were promoted by this movement on the Dutch society, which was the cause of the death of millions of people. Hence, there was a general awareness among people against this movement during the war against the German occupation and of its danger which helped to ban it. This means that banning any political party in the Netherlands depends on three elements, namely: the commission of the crime, that the party poses a real threat to the Dutch society, and the existence of public opinion in favor of the ban. So, when the National Socialist Movement was banned, this was in the context of the post-war scenario, where the people's feelings of pain were calling for revenge against all those who were associated with the Germans.

Since there is a clear direction to ban anti-democratic political Islamic parties, which are working to undermine the democratic system in the Netherlands, as they claim, it is legitimate to ask: Are the elements for banning parties present in the Islamic parties that the government seeks to ban? This is a legitimate question, especially since the terms of banning Islamic political parties are not available at all, rather, the parties calling for the crime and pose a threat to the Dutch national security have no existence in the Netherlands!! In the Netherlands, there are no Islamic political parties calling to undermine the democratic system! There are no political parties working for the application of Shariah law in the Netherlands! There are no herein parties that have bloody pasts and pose a threat to society.

If we controversially assume the existence of parties that use violence and work to violate the public law in the Netherlands, then even these do not need a new law to ban such parties, because such a law already exists. And this leads to the following question: What is the reason then for all this contrived uproar and the calls for a constitutional amendment to ban Islamic parties that pose a threat to the community, even though such parties are non-existent?

The only item that could support a policy to ban Islamic parties in the Netherlands is the presence of a negative public opinion about Islam and Muslims, and this has emerged clearly in recent years in the Netherlands. For there is a fear and hatred of Islam, there is abuse of Islam and Muslims, and there are those who work on fueling these feelings continuously, without being there any reasonable justification to do so.

The locally and internationally mannered Islamophobia have been politically exploited. In the past year Dutch authorities embarked to adopt stringent policies towards Muslims; allowing to take the Muslim children away from their homes, to confiscate passports from those intending to travel, merely on suspicion and without the intervention of the judiciary, not to grant the Imams who promote hatred ideas visas to enter the Netherlands, work to prevent the building of mosques, and last but not least ban of Islamic political parties.

We are absolutely convinced that the political parties that they promote to ban do not exist in the Netherlands. And the Dutch parties calling to ban political parties are only chasing an illusion created by their own hands in order to justify policies and arbitrary procedures against Muslims, and to impose the secular way of life on Muslims, and then work on the demonization of some ideas and Islamic concepts. The discussions that take place in the parliament confirm this; some members of the parliament called explicitly to ban Islamic parties, while others are calling for a fight against Islamic ideas through the support of some Muslims who hold "liberal" Islam and put them in the face of other Muslims who disagree with them in the opinion.

However, both sides agree that dealing with the Islamic ideas and concepts must be harsh, and has there been any difference between them, then it is only in their style. Therefore, the call to ban political parties also aims to mobilize the society against the ideas promoted by these parties, which means that the ban on political parties will lead naturally to ban Islamic ideas that the Dutch government could not accept.

The recital, which the West crack out our heads with, of calling for tolerance and freedom and equal rights for those who disagree with it in thinking, is of no value, rather it does not exist at all. The only truth which is evident is that Muslims who ideologically disagree with the West face tough procedures, the possibility of a ban and lawsuits to fight their ideas. All these indicate that the advocates of freedom are the first to disbelieve it, and the secular parties are the primary threat to the Dutch law and their miserable democracy.

Okay Pala
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir
in The Netherlands