January 21 2011 Wikileaks documents have revealed a concerted effort by Washington to court a series of prominent Dutch Muslims in the wake of the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports that, following the murder, US authorities deemed the Netherlands home to the most poorly integrated Muslim community in Europe,…
January 25 2011 The Netherlands Equal Treatment Commission has ruled in favour of schools whose dress codes regulate wearing headscarves. The commission was responding to the case of the Gerrit Rietveld College in Utrecht, where a new dresscode permitted headscarves only when 90% of the face remains visible. The school suggested that headgear covering the…
January 26 2011 An Egyptian man aged 52 attempted to set himself on fire outside of the Egyptian embassy in the Hague. When police approached, he covered himself with liquid; he was overpowered while attempting to start a lighter. According to a statement from Dutch police; however several people have tried to set themselves alight…
January 26 2011 More imams and fewer Christian chaplains are to be hired for work in the Dutch prison system. A story in Trouw reveals an internal justice ministry document showing that 12 of the current 32 positions for non-religious posts providing advice to inmates are to be eliminated. At the same time, the number…
CBC News – January 28, 2011 About a hundred parents waited in line outside the Calgary Islamic School for a chance to enroll their children. The private school — which teaches kindergarten to Grade 11 — has room for about 20 new students next year, officials said. But since it’s the only school of its…
