The anti-gay leaflets distributed to homes in western parts of Amsterdam are likely to be the work of supporters of Turkish creationist Harun Yahya, the Volkskrant said on Tuesday.
The same quotes and photographs as used on the leaflet can be found on two Dutch Facebook pages interspersed with quotes and films featuring Yahya, who is characterised by his ultra-conservative creationism, the paper says.
The Telegraaf makes similar claims, and links the flyers to Dutch Turkish campaigner Berrrak Su who presents anti-gay videos on the Facebook pages.
The leaflet states that homosexuality is forbidden in Islam, Christianity and Judaism and goes on to list a number of ‘facts’ about gay people. It also includes a link to a Facebook page focusing on a Romanian couple who were angry their children were taken into care in England and then adopted by a gay couple.
Copy paste
Theologian Taede Smedes told the Volkskrant that Yahya’s ideology is similar to that of the Christian creationists in the US. ‘It is a sort of copy paste, substituting God for Allah,’ he said.
According to the Volkskrant, the movement is non-violent and gives western Muslims more freedom. Young women, for example, do not cover their hair and are known to wear a lot of make-up.
So far some 75 people have complained to the police about the leaflets, saying that they want to make a formal complaint. However, that will only be possible if the public prosecution department determines that a criminal offence has been committed, the Volkskrant said.