Dutch society is outraged by the murder of film-maker Theo van Gogh at the hands of a Moroccan immigrant, writes Gamal Nkrumah from The Hague On 2 November, a second-generation Dutch citizen of Moroccan origin shot Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh seven times, then knifed him as he lay dying on the streets of Amsterdam in broad daylight. The alleged killer, 26-year old Mohamed Bouyeri, who holds dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality, was arrested after a shoot out with the Dutch police. In the wake of this crime, it seems as though the Netherlands has lost its innocence overnight. Suddenly, there is a widespread conviction that Islam has in general done more harm than any other world religion. The Dutch public is angry, outraged and frightened by the prospect of a society where people are afraid to voice their opinions for fear of their lives. Freedom of expression can no longer be taken for granted. "It is a shame that opinion-makers have become afraid to voice any criticism of Muslims and Islam, and that Muslim women must fear being molested because of their headscarves," Maurits Berger, senior researcher with the Netherlands Institute of International Affairs, told Al-Ahram Weekly. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende went further, telling the country's parliament that extremism was undermining democracy. "We cannot let ourselves be blinded by people who seek to drag us into a spiral of violence," Balkenende warned. Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk spoke of the increasing militancy among young Muslims, insisting that all immigrants, including Muslims, must accept secular Western values. Some citizens seem to have been only too ready to translate words into violent action. Since the murder of Van Gogh, a Muslim school in Uden has been burned down, and there have been more than 20 incidents of arson and vandalism against Muslims and Muslim property in Holland. Holland's neighbours are increasingly concerned about the crisis and the Dutch handling of the explosive situation. For many foreign commentators, it is Dutch integration policy which should be under fire. French daily Le Monde wrote of the fallacy of Dutch tolerance being exposed, and criticised the "tactlessness" of Dutch politicians whose provocative statements have ruffled many Muslim feathers recently. "It is not by moving from one extreme to another that its leaders can show they understand the magnitude of the task at hand," wrote its correspondent. Dutch officials were quick to play down such accusations, however. "I see it as my personal duty to put Islam in perspective," Berger explained. "We are confronted with serious social and cultural problems in Holland due to the large influx of migrants." According to the 2004 figures from the official Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics, there are three million people in Holland of foreign descent out of a total population of 16 million. "Many problems associated with immigration are being attributed to Islam," Berger added. "Islam is perceived as a cause, rather than a justification. Islam is also perceived as an obstacle to participation in national life and integration of immigrants in the liberal and democratic rule of law that we enjoy in the Netherlands. This is a rather strange opinion, given the fact that our society has been built by coalitions of liberals, socialists and Christians." There are one million Muslims in the Netherlands and many indigenous Dutch people fear that the very best of their liberal democratic tradition might suddenly be endangered by the emergence of a militant Islamist terrorism. The Dutch parliament is currently debating means of improving the rapidly deteriorating relations between Muslims and non- Muslims in Holland. "My role as MP is to analyse the situation and look for solutions to the problem at hand," Naima Azough, a Dutch MP of Moroccan descent, told the Weekly. She stressed that Muslims in Holland should be viewed as partners in the war against militancy, and not as secret enemies of the state. In Azough's view, Islamist extremism is disastrous for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. This is the second time in two years that a political murder has rocked the Netherlands. The Dutch government quickly took a stance, labelling Van Gogh's murder an "act against freedom of expression". "It was a shock that somebody could be killed because of his opinions," Azough told the Weekly. She pointed out that the murder of anti-immigration right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn two years ago had also created a political storm in Holland. "The murder of Pim Fortuyn was another shock to the system. This time it was as if Pandora's box had been opened: many feelings of fear and anger towards Muslims were now openly expressed." "The Netherlands is a country in which freedom of expression has always been a fundamental freedom for all. If you do not agree with somebody, you answer with words, not with violence," Azough explained. "And if you are hurt by what is said or feel discriminated against, you have the right to go to court. This brutal killing has created a great fear in an already volatile society." It is clear, however, that a large constituency of frustrated immigrants, especially the young and unemployed, loathes the liberal traditions of their hosts. Such sour youngsters seem increasingly likely to take up arms against the Dutch state and individual symbols of Western decadence and debauchery. The murderer of Van Gogh clearly belonged to this group of alienated Muslim youngsters in Holland. And in many ways, film-maker Theo van Gogh had made himself a target, if not for murder, then for anger and abuse. A harsh critic of Islam, he was infamous in certain quarters for having directed a film entitled Submission dramatising the anti-Muslim opinions of Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali, herself of Somalian origin. The film portrays domestic violence as endemic in Muslim societies, and includes a provocative image of a Muslim woman with Qur'anic texts etched onto her body. In the wake of Van Gogh's murder, a host of measures are now being advanced to heal the rifts in Dutch society. A group of Dutch MPs have put forward a proposal urging the government to issue new legislation that bars non-Dutch-educated imams from preaching in Dutch mosques. "Most of the imams in the Netherlands do not speak Dutch; whereas young Muslims have trouble communicating in Arabic. This creates a gap between imams and young Muslims," Azough explained. "It is essential for imams to learn Dutch and know more about the social problems youngsters are confronted with. The world outside the mosque is a world too many imams know nothing about, so they find it hard to help and advise young Muslims." The Dutch are famous for having always taken a pragmatic view of religion. But Berger disputes the truth of this interpretation of Dutch history. "When religious tolerance was introduced in the 17th century, it meant that non-Protestants were free to practice their religion -- but not publicly. Catholics and Jews and others also had no access to public office." "This situation," he explained, "did not change by law until the 19th century, and only in the 1960s did religion become irrelevant to the nomination of public officials." Berger argued that this traditional focus on religion re-emerged in the late 1990s, in response to the increasing number of Muslim immigrants and their public display of religion in the form of dress, headscarves and beards. Azough concurred, noting that the Dutch predicament cannot be seen in isolation from international conflicts. "The attacks on Falluja, the hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties in Iraq, and the plight of the Palestinians are important breeding grounds for international frustration and anger." The wealthy democracies of Europe deploy overwhelmingly economic clout and moral might as well as political power, and Holland is no exception. But frustrated Dutch Muslims believe they have the moral upper hand. There will be no easy solution to the rifts exposed by the murder of Van Gogh. "The Dutch government has to underline the fact that Muslims in Holland are Dutch citizens, and should be treated and accepted as such," Azough stressed. "Muslims are sometimes treated as second-class citizens, not fully-fledged Dutch citizens." Yet they are part and parcel of the Dutch culture and society. "Holland has changed," she declares. Not all the Dutch are happy with that change, however. "The question in the Netherlands in the past few years has not so much been open-minded liberalism, but political correctness," Berger explained. Many non-Muslims now feel themselves at war and so hit back accordingly. "The general mood now is that migrants have been pampered. The motto is: I say what I think has become fashionable. Talk previously perceived as politically incorrect is now enthusiastically embraced as refreshing." In the climate of anger and confusion following Van Gogh's murder, it will take all of Dutch society's liberal instincts to heal these rifts.
