Dutch Muslims expressed shock on Thursday at the election win of far-right populist Geert Wilders, who has previously called for mosques and the Koran to be banned in the Netherlands.
Wilders has long insulted Islam, describing it as a fascist ideology of “a retarded culture” and a “backward religion”. Since 2004, he has been under police protection and in 2016 was convicted of discrimination after he called Moroccans “scum” at a campaign rally.
Habib El Kaddouri, the head of a group representing Dutch Moroccans, spoke of “enormous distress and fear” that Wilders would “portray us as second-class citizens”.
Wilders, who was once banned from entering the UK because of his record of incitement, has made his reputation as an anti-Islam agitator and wrote in a foreword to his election programme that “the Netherlands is not an Islamic country”.
His party’s manifesto includes a ban on mosques, the Qur’an and Islamic headscarves in government buildings.
“These election results are shocking for Dutch Muslims. We did not expect such a party with a programme that is against the basic principles of the rule of law to be so big,” said Muhsin Koktas of Muslim organization CMO.
Muslims make up around 5% of the Dutch population of almost 18 million people.
