And I suppose the migrants themselves have no responsibility in all this? Forgive me if I doubt that the Holland of 2004 is really the kind of virulently racist and xenophobic society that Dijkstal seems to assume. Sure, there are racists and creeps everywhere, but no one in Holland or in Europe in general seems to be willing or able to address the fact that the problem of Islamic immigration is not racial, but ideological. This is the first time a large number of people have come holding a religion that contains a tradition that they must do violence in order to establish the political hegemony of that religion. How can non-Muslim Dutchmen be sure that Dutch Muslims will not try to institute Sharia there? An atmosphere in which such questions are of themselves considered discrimination and hatemongering is one that breeds the resentment that Dijkstal deplores.
From Expatica, with thanks to Ali Dashti:
AMSTERDAM “” Dutch political culture is sowing hate and criminalising migrants, former Liberal VVD leader Hans Dijkstal has claimed. He particularly slammed a proposal to publicly identify migrants on how much they have integrated into Dutch society.
Dijkstal said the stigmatisation of Muslims and repeated attacks against the Islamic community cultivates fierce anti-Muslim reactions and breeds hate among Muslim youth for white Dutch nationals.
The former deputy prime minister, born in Egypt in 1943, placed much of the blame on VVD parliamentary leader Jozias van Aartsen, who he described as ‘il capo’. He said under Van Aartsen’s leadership, the VVD has opted for the hard line.
“Muslims are being stigmatised. An entire religion is being attacked even though most Muslims are moderate, respectable people,” he said, admitting that it was unlikely that his criticism might spark a change in VVD policies.