Amsterdam: Contract with mosques canceled

Amsterdam: Contract with mosques canceled

The Amsterdam neighborhood De Baarsjes will not continue with the contract they have with several mosques.  The agreement from 2004 was meant to fight extremism, the neighborhood announced Saturday.

By signing the contract the mosques promised to keep an eye on whether people were radicalizing, and then have a talk with them.  In case of criminal cases, the prayer houses were to lodge a complaint by the police.

The agreement in fact barely contributed to observing extremism.  The neighborhood administration never received a report of extremism.  Moreover, the neighborhood now think that they won't treat the mosques as equal partners if they sign the contract again.

The neighborhood mayor Godfried Lambriex is still conducting talks with the mosques about issues such as radicalization. The contract was agreed upon shortly after the murder of Theo van Gogh.

Sources: Volkskrant, Trouw (Dutch)

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