An opposition movement against the Dutch cabinet’s support for mosques has failed. The Home Affairs Ministry and Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) assert that government subsidies for religious organizations are permissible on the basis that it fosters integration. The failed opposition bid was supported by the conservatives (VVD), Party for Freedom (PVV) and centre-left D66,…
Three opposition parties in the Rotterdam city council are calling for Tariq Ramadan’s resignation because of his collaboration with Iranian state television station Press TV. Ramadan was hired by the city in 2007 to help bridge the divide between Muslims and non-Muslims, and he lectures at Rotterdam’s Erasmus University. Ramadan has been hosting a weekly…
The Christian Democrats are searching for a way to close down mosques in which radical imams preach hate, says CDA MP Madeleine van Toorenburg. The initiative is supported by the Liberals (VVD) and Geert Wilders’ anti-immigration PVV party, reports ANP news agency. However, it is unlikely that a parliamentary majority would support such a move,…
The leaders of the Union of Islamic Organizations in France (UOIF) were stunned by a press release from “the offensive of the Socialist Party” against their federation. After the French Council for the Muslim Religion (CFCM) became concerned about “the political and electoral usage of the debates surrounding Islam in France”, the UOIF denounced the…
Foreigners living in Belgium have been given the right to vote in the country’s local elections, whatever their nationality. The Belgian Parliament’s approval of the new voting law, marks the end of a long and often bitter debate that once again saw the country divided along linguistic lines. The country’s French speaking political parties carried…
