15 December 2011 The members of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) with seats in the European parliament refused to acknowledge the five activists in the Arab Spring uprising who were awarded with the Sacharov prize for freedom of thought. The four members refused to applaud or stand for the winners, and the leader of…
14 December 2011 A debate in the Netherlands over a proposed ban on ritual slaughter continues with a majority of senators in the upper house of parliament now opposing the ban. A large majority of MPs in the lower house voted in favour of a ban in June, though Jewish and Muslim groups oppose…
8 November 2011 Dutch MP Raymond de Roon of the anti-Islam PVV has been denied a visa to Egypt. Consequently, the working trip planned by parliament’s foreign affairs committee has been cancelled. Telegraaf reports De Roon’s assertion that he was refused the visa on the basis of his earlier statements regarding the “ethnic cleansing” of…
28.09.2011 The state parliament in Lower Saxony discussed the potential introduction of a burqa ban for civil servants. The coalition government’s proposal to introduce such a ban in 2012 has been harshly criticized by the opposition of SPD, Green Party, and Left-Wing Party. The mosque association Schura described the proposal as “hysteria”, as there is…
28 June 2011 The Dutch parliament voted in favour of banning kosher and halal slaughter of animals, following debate which saw considerable resistance from Jewish and Muslim communities. The ban contains an exception such that groups able to prove that animals do not suffer comparatively more during ritual slaughter than standard methods will be permitted…
