News and Analysis on Islam in Europe and North America
Danish Intelligence agency PET has arrested four men on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack against the Copenhagen offices of Jyllands-Posten newspaper. The terror attack in Mumbai in 2008 was allegedly their inspiration. According to the agency, the arrests were made in suburban Copenhagen and were made following a long-term surveillance operation in collaboration with
Following the mention of three Coptic churches – located in Eindhoven, Utrecht and Amsterdam- on a website considered to have links to Al Qaida, Muslim organizations in the Netherlands have denounced the threat. The Dutch Muslim Council, the Council of Moroccan Mosques in the Netherlands and the Federation of Islamic Organizations have offered protection to
Amsterdam police chief Bernard Welten has come under fire after suggesting that, should the burqa be banned in the country, his officers would not necessarily arrest women wearing the garment. Describing the issue as ‘extremely complicated’ Welten, noting that officers would have to ‘think hard’ before taking such a step. Under the governing coalition between
In an interview on Dutch television Ayaan Hirsi Ali announced that she will not make sequals to her controversial 2004 film Submission. Although the script is written, Hirsi Ali claims that making the film causes too great a risk to the cast and crew. Currently living in the United States, Hirsi Ali released Submission with
The regional police force in Ijsseland, the Netherlands, now supplies only pork free lunch boxes in consideration of Muslim employees. Previously, halal and regular lunch boxes were both available, but the system created confusion. Now only pork free boxes are offered, usually given out during large scale police operations.