Posted by Michael van der Galien on May 4, 2013 - 13:59
A portion of hatred on the day we commemorate the dead? Nice!
Wonderful! We finally have some variety! So far Remembrance Day has had marked national unity and brotherhood. Fortunately for people who find that a bit boring, the Islamic University of Rotterdam has a very different plan; according to The Telegraph this morning.
There is a lot of anger and dismay about the lecture that will be given by the controversial hate preacher Sheikh Dr. Jassem al-Mutawa in the Islamic University of Rotterdam on the very day of commemoration.
Al-Mutawa, who comes from Kuwait, is chairman of the fundamentalist channel Iqraa TV. He is a Jew-hater of the first class. He treats women very harshly. He did once say to his followers that women should be stoned when they keep an extramarital relationship; because that is done by monkeys! Yes. You read that right, Al-Mutawa considers monkeys and women exactly the same beings.
The President of the Central Jewish Consultation, Jigal Markuszower, says also that the decision to allow the radical sheikh to preach today is “distasteful and disrespectful”.
On May 4th, we must concentrate ourselves on respect for all victims who have fallen in World War II and for soldiers who fell for peacekeeping missions just to prevent this happening again. That feeling is a matter of the civilisation that we have built. It seems this university does not understand the respect in which we interact with each other in the Netherlands. “
Indeed the Islamic University of Rotterdam does not understand that. No. And apparently they’re still proud of it. Otherwise why they have invited Al-Mutawa for today? Of all days? It seems to me that this is a conscious offence against our custom, and all those killed in the World War II (and beyond).
A board member of ‘Leefbaar Rotterdam’ (local party), Anita Fähmel, thinks the idea is wrong: “Mayor Aboutaleb, who knew nothing about it, was yesterday afternoon hastily informed… Such a speech during commemoration cannot really take place”
Undoubtedly there will be reactions from other politicians. The question is: what they can do about this? Probably nothing.
In addition, can you determine whether the government should ban this kind of affairs? Should the state and municipalities intervene in matters of this kind?
No. Of course not. These people have a right to freedom of expression. It’s our own fault that we have brought so many fundamentalists to the Netherlands that they find it perfectly normal to invite (people like the hate Sheikh). Now once these speakers are here, we can not take away their rights. Incidentally, we also do not want: we should just beat them by our freedom and liberal character, not create, in a pinch, unlimited power by increasing government.
The only thing we can do is criticize the university and make it clear that this can not happen again. If we’re lucky, they then adjust their policies by themselves. Not because they realize they have gone too far, but purely out of fear of damage to their reputation.