Dutch Fears of Foreigners “Understandable”

28 June 2011 In a leaked copy of a speech, Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen addresses Christian Democratic Party members with the message that worries about foreigners are ‘understandable’. Verhagen seeks to distance himself from the increasing populism in the Netherlands yet recognizes what drives it. He notes that “People are concerned about churches…

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Muslim Members Leaving Dutch Political Party

March 24 2011 In an open letter to Dutch newspaper Volkskrant, Muslim members of the national Christian Democratic party say that they feel they are seen first as Muslims and only second as members of the CDA. The letter warns that Muslim members may leave the party, in which case its position in urban centers…

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Merkel: Public service needs more immigrants

1 November 2010 Only two weeks after saying attempts to forge a multicultural society had failed, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for more immigrants in the country’s civil service and deplored discrimination in employment. “We currently have a real under-representation of people of immigrant origin in the public service and we have to change…

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Two former Guantanamo inmates arrive in Germany

16 September 2010 After months of negotiations between Berlin and Washington, two former inmates of the Guantanamo prison arrived in Germany on Thursday. German officials hope to swiftly integrate them into society. A spokesman for the Hamburg government confirmed that Ahmed Mohammed al-Shurfa, a stateless man of Palestinian descent born in Saudi Arabia, had arrived…

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Muslims are not Welcome in the Christian Party

Thursday 9, 2010 Bjarte Ystebø, editor in the Christian paper Idag, speaks out against Muslims joining the Norwegian Christian Democratic Party (KrF). Christianity and Islam hold very different values, he says, and the kinship between them is greatly exaggerated. Christianity promotes freedom, human rights and pluralism, he continues, while Islam stands for just the opposite….

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