Orthodox Muslims in Netherlands ‘Not Radical’

September 24 2010

Recent research by the University of Amsterdam suggests that some 12% if Dutch Moroccan Muslims consider themselves orthodox. The figure for Dutch Turkish Muslims is one in 20. According to these figures, the country is home to roughly 36 000 orthodox Muslims. Researcher Jean Tillie, while calling the results “bad news for democracy”, as more orthodox survey respondents back a theocray- though they also have confidence in the Dutch government. Tillie noted that orthodox and radical Muslims must not be equated. The report concluded that strictly orthodox Muslims do not pose a security threat to the country.
In response, Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin announced that the threat level in the country would not be raised. At the same time, Amsterdam’s diversity Alderman Andree van Es suggested that ‘enormous numbers’ of women ‘can’t behave as they would want to’ within orthodox Muslim communities.

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