Islamist Activity
As of 2018, roughly 5.1% of the Netherlands’ total population of 17 million are Muslim.32 The two largest demographics within this population are Turks and Moroccans.33 Other large Muslims communities come from Syria, Suriname, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, and Iran.34 Several thousand native Dutch converts and children of second-generation Muslim immigrants comprise the last piece of the multifaceted Dutch Muslim community.35
New studies by the Dutch government show that Dutch Muslims are increasingly religious – and increasingly isolated from the rest of Dutch society, challenging the integration-focused immigration policy of the Dutch government.36 The average age of the Muslim population (25) is much lower than the national average (38).37 This age gap, in combination with education level and language discrepancies, inhibits seamless societal integration and potentially increasing disaffection and alienation. Collectively this can lead to radicalization. The diversity of the Muslim community has also prevented any large-scale unified political movement from forming in support of its varied interests and concerns.38
Turks make up the largest Muslim community in the Netherlands, and the infrastructure that exists to support them is quite sizable.39 The main Muslim organizations within the Turkish community belong to mosques under the control of the Diyanet (the Turkish religious affairs directorate in Ankara) or to the non-governmental Milli Görüs movement, which is headquartered in Cologne, Germany.40 This directorate maintains significant power over its diaspora community in the Netherlands, including the right to appoint imams for Diyanet-controlled mosques.41 However, all imams practicing in the Netherlands are required by the government to take a year-long “integration course.”42
Traditionally, the government-controlled official nature of Diyanet has kept it distinct from Milli Görüs. For decades, in fact, the Turkish government was openly hostile to the group and suspicious of the multiple Islamist parties that followed it.
Moroccans constitute the second-largest Muslim community in the Netherlands but report stronger religious attitudes.43 While only 45% of Turkish Muslim immigrants self-report as pious and strictly practicing, 84% of the Moroccan immigrant community identifies this way.44 Although the majority of Moroccan immigrants appear to have integrated well into Dutch society, the demographic is disproportionately represented in the government’s threat assessments of potential jihadists. AIVD’s 2014 and 2015 reports affirmed that the majority of Dutch foreign fighters that traveled to Syria were also Moroccan.45 This has led to growing incidents of angry public rhetoric and anti-Moroccan discrimination; in one particularly high-profile example, Geert Wilders, the leader of the nationalist Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom, or PVV), started a chant at a rally several years ago calling for “fewer Moroccans” in the country.46
The Syrian conflict has catalyzed changing attitudes among many Dutch citizens as the wave of refugees seeking asylum brings the conflict closer to home. In 2015, the Netherlands agreed to accept an additional 7,000 resettled asylum seekers who had originally arrived elsewhere in Europe over the course of two years.47 The Dutch government has since stated that Syrian asylum seekers represented nearly half of all the arrived refugees in the Netherlands that year (approximately 27,700 out of a total 58,880).48 As the November 2015 attacks in Paris made clear, foreign fighters en route to Europe from Syria could easily take advantage of the chaos caused by the refugee crisis to return unnoticed.
In the wake of the Syrian conflict and the refugee crisis, the famous Dutch tolerance appears to be replaced by rising xenophobia. In September 2016 (when the refugee crisis remained near its peak), the Pew Research Center reported that 61 percent of Dutch citizens believed that refugees would increase terrorism in the country; in the same poll, a full third of Dutch respondents said that growing diversity made the Netherlands a worse place to live.49 As the refugee crisis subsided and immigration returned to normal levels, this sentiment appears to have abated somewhat. Nevertheless, concerns about cultural integration have clearly provoked unease and fear among neighbors who blame multiculturalism for increased violence and other social ills; 73% of Dutch respondents reported that immigrants need to adopt their host country’s customs and traditions.50 These attitudes may be further aggravated by other long-term trends in Dutch society, including increased secularization and the rise of populist parties using religion as a political tool while failing to differentiate Islam itself from political Islamism.51
The polarized climate poses a risk to Dutch society, in that it may contribute to the radicalization of a lone wolf actor or small domestic cells—either from would-be jihadists or from anti-Muslim extremist groups.52 Indeed, the AIVD has noted how radical elements may attempt to exploit these sentiments:
…the Islamists involved are indeed aware of the “favorable” polarizing effect of Islamist-inspired violent activities. Such violent activities promote the prejudices of the Dutch population about all Muslims. As a result thereof, Muslims also increasingly get the idea that they are alienated from the Dutch society and the chance that they become susceptible to radical ideas becomes bigger.53
Islamism and Society
As of 2018, roughly 5.1% of the Netherlands’ total population of 17 million are Muslim.32 The two largest demographics within this population are Turks and Moroccans.33 Other large Muslims communities come from Syria, Suriname, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, and Iran.34 Several thousand native Dutch converts and children of second-generation Muslim immigrants comprise the last piece of the multifaceted Dutch Muslim community.35
New studies by the Dutch government show that Dutch Muslims are increasingly religious – and increasingly isolated from the rest of Dutch society, challenging the integration-focused immigration policy of the Dutch government.36 The average age of the Muslim population (25) is much lower than the national average (38).37 This age gap, in combination with education level and language discrepancies, inhibits seamless societal integration and potentially increasing disaffection and alienation. Collectively this can lead to radicalization. The diversity of the Muslim community has also prevented any large-scale unified political movement from forming in support of its varied interests and concerns.38
Turks make up the largest Muslim community in the Netherlands, and the infrastructure that exists to support them is quite sizable.39 The main Muslim organizations within the Turkish community belong to mosques under the control of the Diyanet (the Turkish religious affairs directorate in Ankara) or to the non-governmental Milli Görüs movement, which is headquartered in Cologne, Germany.40 This directorate maintains significant power over its diaspora community in the Netherlands, including the right to appoint imams for Diyanet-controlled mosques.41 However, all imams practicing in the Netherlands are required by the government to take a year-long “integration course.”42
Traditionally, the government-controlled official nature of Diyanet has kept it distinct from Milli Görüs. For decades, in fact, the Turkish government was openly hostile to the group and suspicious of the multiple Islamist parties that followed it.
Moroccans constitute the second-largest Muslim community in the Netherlands but report stronger religious attitudes.43 While only 45% of Turkish Muslim immigrants self-report as pious and strictly practicing, 84% of the Moroccan immigrant community identifies this way.44 Although the majority of Moroccan immigrants appear to have integrated well into Dutch society, the demographic is disproportionately represented in the government’s threat assessments of potential jihadists. AIVD’s 2014 and 2015 reports affirmed that the majority of Dutch foreign fighters that traveled to Syria were also Moroccan.45 This has led to growing incidents of angry public rhetoric and anti-Moroccan discrimination; in one particularly high-profile example, Geert Wilders, the leader of the nationalist Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom, or PVV), started a chant at a rally several years ago calling for “fewer Moroccans” in the country.46
The Syrian conflict has catalyzed changing attitudes among many Dutch citizens as the wave of refugees seeking asylum brings the conflict closer to home. In 2015, the Netherlands agreed to accept an additional 7,000 resettled asylum seekers who had originally arrived elsewhere in Europe over the course of two years.47 The Dutch government has since stated that Syrian asylum seekers represented nearly half of all the arrived refugees in the Netherlands that year (approximately 27,700 out of a total 58,880).48 As the November 2015 attacks in Paris made clear, foreign fighters en route to Europe from Syria could easily take advantage of the chaos caused by the refugee crisis to return unnoticed.
In the wake of the Syrian conflict and the refugee crisis, the famous Dutch tolerance appears to be replaced by rising xenophobia. In September 2016 (when the refugee crisis remained near its peak), the Pew Research Center reported that 61 percent of Dutch citizens believed that refugees would increase terrorism in the country; in the same poll, a full third of Dutch respondents said that growing diversity made the Netherlands a worse place to live.49 As the refugee crisis subsided and immigration returned to normal levels, this sentiment appears to have abated somewhat. Nevertheless, concerns about cultural integration have clearly provoked unease and fear among neighbors who blame multiculturalism for increased violence and other social ills; 73% of Dutch respondents reported that immigrants need to adopt their host country’s customs and traditions.50 These attitudes may be further aggravated by other long-term trends in Dutch society, including increased secularization and the rise of populist parties using religion as a political tool while failing to differentiate Islam itself from political Islamism.51
The polarized climate poses a risk to Dutch society, in that it may contribute to the radicalization of a lone wolf actor or small domestic cells—either from would-be jihadists or from anti-Muslim extremist groups.52 Indeed, the AIVD has noted how radical elements may attempt to exploit these sentiments:
…the Islamists involved are indeed aware of the “favorable” polarizing effect of Islamist-inspired violent activities. Such violent activities promote the prejudices of the Dutch population about all Muslims. As a result thereof, Muslims also increasingly get the idea that they are alienated from the Dutch society and the chance that they become susceptible to radical ideas becomes bigger.53
Islamism and the State
Ever since the 2014 and 2015 attacks in Europe, the Dutch government has made it a strategic priority to lead continental anti-extremist efforts while simultaneously strengthening counterterrorism legislation and border security measures. The Netherlands maintains a liaison at U.S. Central Command and serves as a member of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, contributing military advisors, trainers and air power to the coalition’s efforts.54 Amsterdam also recognized the importance of travel intervention in keeping foreign fighters from leaving its territory. In 2017, the Dutch government adopted harsh administrative sanctions linked to citizenship and freedom of movement, permitting: the revocation or withdrawal of a dual citizen’s Dutch nationality if he or she joined a terrorist organization; a travel ban on individuals whose intention in traveling poses a threat to national security (i.e., aspiring foreign fighters); and the immediate expiration of the passport for anyone who is the subject of a travel ban.55 Notably, these penalties can be imposed even without prior criminal convictions. The current policy also allows the NCTV to begin building cases against suspects in absentia before they have returned home from conflict areas56 – a preemptive approach that enables more rapid apprehension upon a foreign fighter’s return.
The government also seeks to isolate radicals, empower the voices of moderate Muslims, and strengthen the bonds between Muslim immigrants and the Dutch democratic political system and society.57 To this end, the Netherlands helps lead the European Commission-sponsored Radicalisation Awareness Network and its Centre of Excellence; it has championed EU efforts to develop counter terrorism finance protocols. In August 2014, it began implementing a Comprehensive Action Programme to Combat Jihadism, intended to “protect the democratic state under the rule of law, to counter and weaken the jihadist movement in the Netherlands and to eliminate the breeding ground for radicalization.”58 Some important tactics introduced in this program are: an increase in administrative measures to block and disrupt radical imams and propagandists; the creation of support networks for those concerned or affected by the perceived radicalization of a loved one; the establishment of a center to monitor social tensions and radicalization; and the formation of an infrastructure to guide the dissemination of narratives and views that counter Islamist doctrine and promote the rule of law.
The program also emphasizes combating radical online behavior. Recognizing the power of social media as a recruiting and dissemination tool, the government implements new measures to identify and sanction online propaganda producers, work with internet companies to proactively dismantle any sites or users violating terms of use agreements, and manage a hotline for citizens to report any online content inciting hatred or promoting violence.
As the primary counterradicalization stakeholder in the Dutch government, the NCTV is responsible for the program in keeping with its mission “to minimize the risk of terrorist attacks in the Netherlands and to take prior measures to limit the potential impact of terrorist acts.”59 The Dutch counter-radicalization approach focuses both on Islamic fundamentalists and right-wing nationalists, since racially-motivated attacks against Muslims (as occurred increasingly after film director Theo Van Gogh’s murder by a Moroccan-Dutch immigrant in 2004) can spike hate crimes and deepen feelings of alienation and anger.60
This preventative outlook in the current European security environment demonstrates the Dutch government’s continued adherence to its so-called “broad approach” to countering radicalization.61 It is grounded on the idea that “no one is born a terrorist, but first goes through a short or longer process of radicalization before he or she decides to risk the life of other and his or her own for a political objective.”62 Program funds support cooperation with Muslim communities by stimulating partnership and reducing the appeal of Islamist narratives through counter-messaging. As explicitly delineated in the Comprehensive Action Programme, law enforcement authorities are encouraged to pursue partnership with moderate mosques and imams to negate the polarization pushed by radical elements. At the same time, the government incentivizes integration by Muslim community leaders and individuals, as proven by the aforementioned mandatory “integration course” for imams. Law enforcement officials and social workers familiar with local conditions in various towns and villages are designated as official points of contact in such approaches.
Skeptics, however, deride the utility of the broad approach, given that it oversimplifies the motivations for at-risk individuals, may spark resentment among moderate Muslims, and has little effect on the low-profile, small study groups where such radicalization often occurs.63 A 2017 justice ministry inspection assessed that roughly half of all Dutch local councils (mostly in towns of 100,000 or fewer) so far have taken no action to institute programs, indicating that the policy has yet to take root in small areas and will likely require greater top-down direction.64
At times, the narrative of the looming threat posed by potential radicals gains more ground than the government’s constructive attempts to head it off, particularly in debates over immigration and asylum. This trend largely began at the turn of this century, when the “leader of the Dutch new right” Pim Fortuyn spearheaded a campaign to restrict Dutch immigration and asylum policies.65 Fortuyn was known for his aggressive stance against militant Islam and a hardline belief that Dutch borders must be closed to Muslim immigration because Islamic values clashed irreconcilably with Dutch society.66 After Fortuyn’s murder in 2003 by a radical activist (whose motive was reportedly to stop the scapegoating of Dutch Muslims for society’s problems), his political mantle was quickly assumed by Geert Wilders and the Freedom Party (PVV).67 Wilders was initially able to leverage his party’s crucial position in the ruling Center-right coalition to push the conversation on his priority issues and controversial proposals: stricter regulations on immigration, outlawing the burqa and the niqab, and a ban on dual nationality (which is held by 1.5 to 2 million Dutch citizens).68 Like Fortuyn, Wilders does not differentiate between Islam and Islamism. He considers Islam a threat to Dutch society and to the West; this position has drawn legal action. In December 2016, Wilders was convicted for inciting discrimination against the country’s Moroccan minority. The conviction did not hurt his party’s image; rather, the Dutch Broadcasting Foundation reported increased support for the PVV, due in part to the fact that many Dutch citizens believed it was unfair that Wilders had been tried at all.69
The PVV’s political fortunes have risen and fallen throughout the last decade, as activists opposed to restrictive immigration policies have clashed repeatedly with the rise of populist sentiments. In the 2017 parliamentary elections, the PVV came in second place behind Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberal party, ensuring it could play the role of spoiler.70 It took the Liberal Party a record 208 days to form a government by patching together a coalition with three other parties whose main uniting theme was that they were “anti-Wilders.”71 This fractured leadership validated Wilders’ image as the only alternative to an elite establishment willing to turn a blind eye to the existential threat posed by Islam as portrayed by the PVV.72
While the PVV’s muted gains in 2018 suggest that the Dutch populace as a whole is far from sold on Wilders’ ideology, it continues to polarize Parliament and the public debate by undermining the government’s counter-radicalization approach.73 In June 2018, for example, the Dutch Senate granted Wilders a victory when it voted to outlaw wearing any face-covering clothing (including the burqa and the niqab) in schools, hospitals, government buildings, and other public places.74 Other items on the PVV agenda include proposals to ban “all forms of Muslim expression” including mosques, schools, burkas) to prohibit Dutch citizens with dual citizenship from voting or running for office (a move that Wilders has openly admitted is aimed at combating Turkish influence via the new minority Denk party in the Dutch parliament), and to halt all immigration from Islamic countries in pursuit of complete “de-Islamization” of the Netherlands.75
Wilders launched a cartoon contest in June 2018 caricaturing the prophet Mohammed, prompting domestic outrage and a diplomatic rift with Pakistan (where thousands turned out to protest).76 After Dutch police apprehended a suspect intent on killing Wilders, the government ordered the contest’s cancellation.77
Such bombastic stunts distract from the reality that the PVV is threatened on multiple fronts. On the one hand, many of the PVV’s former faithful have grown disillusioned with the party and its policy that “everything that was wrong [in Dutch society] had to be linked to Islam in one way or another”; two of its former stars have reportedly abandoned the PVV and converted to Islam.78 Yet a new party has arisen (the Forum of Democracy, or FvD); the FvD seeks to appropriate Wilders’ rhetorical crusade to “save Dutch culture” from immigrants of all nationalities.79 The PVV may have lost its monopoly, but the addition of the FvD to the Dutch political space has expanded and diversified the base that finds anti-immigrant rhetoric appealing. These political machinations aggravate the polarization between Dutch society and its Muslim communities, increasing opportunities for radicalization.
Citations
[1] Ministry of Interior of the Netherlands, AIVD (General Intelligence and Security Service), “Annual Report – 2012,” 2012, https://english.aivd.nl/publications/annual-report/2013/07/15/annual-report-2012.
[2] AIVD, Annual Report 2012, 27.
[3] NCTV, “Threat continues to evolve, but threat level remains at 4,” December 4, 2018, https://english.nctv.nl/organisation/counterterrorism/TerroristThreatAssessmentNetherlands/threat-continues-to-evolve-but-threat-level-remains-at-4.aspx.
[4] AIVD, “Annual Report 2017,” March 2018, https://english.aivd.nl/publications/annual-report/2018/03/09/annual-report-2017-aivd; AIVD, “The Children of ISIS,” April 2017, https://english.aivd.nl/publications/publications/2017/04/26/the-children-of-isis.-the-indoctrination-of-minors-in-isis-held-territory.
[5] Janene Pieters, “Terrorism Still a Real Threat in the Netherlands: Counter-terrorism coordinator,” DutchNews.nl, February 26, 2019, https://nltimes.nl/2019/02/26/terrorism-still-real-threat-netherlands-counter-terrorism-coordinator; National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism, “Terrorist Threat Assessment for the Netherlands 46 (DTN 46),” November 2017, https://english.nctv.nl/binaries/DTN46%20Summary_tcm32-294322.pdf.
[6] “Netherlands, Germany alarmed over Islamic extremists,” Hurriyet Daily News, March 14, 2013, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/netherlands-germany-alarmed-over-islamist-extremists-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=42916.
[7] Bibi van Ginkel and Simon Minks, “Addressing the Challenge of Returnees: Threat Perceptions, Policies, and Practices in the Netherlands” in Thomas Renard and Rik Coolsaet, “Returnees: Who Are They, Why Are They (Not) Coming Back, and How Should We Deal with Them?” Egmont Paper 101, February 2018, http://aei.pitt.edu/94367/1/egmont.papers.101_online_v1-3.pdf p. 61.
[8] NCTV, “Terrorist Threat Assessment for the Netherlands 46.”
[9] Janene Pieters, “Terrorism Still a Real Threat in the Netherlands: Counter-terrorism coordinator.”.
[10] NCTV, “Terrorist Threat Assessment for the Netherlands 46,” 5; “Dutch looking into Islamic State threat against women’s soccer tournament,” Reuters, July 12, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-netherlands-threat/dutch-looking-into-islamic-state-threat-against-womens-soccer-tournament-idUSKBN19X1M4?il=0
[11] Jacob Poushter and Dorothy Manevich, “Globally, People Point to ISIS and Climate Change as Leading Security Threats,” Pew Research Center, August 1, 2017.
[12] NCTV, “Terrorist Threat Assessment Netherlands,” September 2018, https://www.nctv.nl/binaries/DTN48, samenvatting_tcm31-352621.pdf.
[13] AIVD and National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism, “Salafism in the Netherlands: Diversity and Dynamics,” September 2015, 5, https://english.aivd.nl/publications/publications/2015/09/24/salafism-in-the-netherlands-diversity-and-dynamics.
[14] AIVD, “Annual Report 2017,” March 2018, https://english.aivd.nl/publications/annual-report/2018/03/09/annual-report-2017-aivd.
[15] AIVD and National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism, “Salafism in the Netherlands: Diversity and Dynamics,” September 2015, 13.
[16] NCTV, “Terrorist Threat Assessment Netherlands,” September 2018, p. 3
[17] Ibid, p.2
[18] AIVD and National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism, “Salafism in the Netherlands: Diversity and dynamics,” 8.
[19] NCTV, “Terrorist Threat Assessment Netherlands,” September 2018, p. 9.
[20] “Salafism in the Netherlands: Diversity and dynamics,” 9; AIVD, “Annual Report 2014: Not only returnees but also ‘stay-at-homes’ pose a threat,” May 13, 2015, 19, https://english.aivd.nl/publications/annual-report/2015/05/13/annual-report-2014-not-only-returnees-but-also-“stay-at-homes”-pose-a-threat.
[21] “Dozens of Dutch mosques financed from Gulf States,” NetherlandTimes.nl, April 24, 2018, https://nltimes.nl/2018/04/24/dozens-dutch-mosques-financed-gulf-states-report.
[22] AIVD, “Annual Report 2014: Not only returnees but also ‘stay-at-homes’ pose a threat.”
[23] Ian Johnson and Crawford, “A Saudi Group Spreads Extremism in ‘Law’ seminars, Taught in Dutch,” Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2003; AIVD, “Saudi influences in the Netherlands. Links between the Salafist mission, radicalisation processes and Islamic terrorism,” 2004; Chamber of Commerce, Foundation Waqf, dossier number 41091392; Chamber of Commerce, dossier number 41091392; Tareek Osama, file number 41 (Golden Chain document); Silvan Schoonhooven, “IS-gangers welkom in El-Tawheed-moskee” De Telegraaf, August 3, 2018, https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/2384887/is-gangers-welkom-in-el-tawheed-moskee?utm_source=www.dutchnews.nl&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=/news/2018/08/amsterdam-mosque-gave-shelter-to-jihadis-recruiters-telegraaf-says/.
[24] “Eindhoven weert zeven imams die geweld verheerlijken uit moskee [Eindhoven bans seven imams who glorify violence from mosque],” de Volkskrant, December 22, 2015, http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/eindhoven-weert-zeven-imams-die-geweld-verheerlijken-uit-moskee~a4212673/.
[25] Lorenzo Vidino, “Testimony - The Muslim Brotherhood in the West: Characteristics, Aims and Policy,” RAND Corporation, April 2011, 7, https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/testimonies/2011/RAND_CT358.pdf.
[26] Edwin Bakker and Roel Meijer, The Muslim Brotherhood in Europe, Oxford Scholarship Online, 2013.
[27] Claire Berlinski, “Who is Fethullah Gulen?” City Journal 22, no. 4, Autumn 2012, http://www.city-journal.org/2012/22_4_fethullah-gulen.html.
[28] Janene Pieters, “Dutch politicians outraged over new ‘Gulen-list,’” NLTimes.nl, August 31, 2016, http://www.nltimes.nl/2016/08/31/dutch-politicians-outraged-new-gulen-list/.
[29] Bakker and Meijer, The Muslim Brotherhood in Europe, 25.
[30] See, for example, Omar Nasiri, Inside the Jihad: My life with Al Qaeda (Cambridge: Basic Books, 2006), 109-115.
[31] NCTb, “Terrorist Threat Assessment for the Netherlands 42: Summary,” July 2016, 5, https://english.nctv.nl/binaries/dtn42-summary_tcm32-83624.pdf.
[32] “Netherlands,” CIA World Factbook, February 14, 2019, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nl.html.
[33] “The Position of Muslims in the Netherlands: Facts and Figures,” Institute for Multicultural Affairs (Utrecht), 2010, https://www.eukn.eu/fileadmin/Lib/files/EUKN/2010/0_linkclick.pdf?utm_source=mandiner&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=mandiner_201806.
[34] “The Position of Muslims in the Netherlands: Facts and Figures,” Institute for Multicultural Affairs (Utrecht).
[35] “More than 850 thousand Muslims in the Netherlands.”
[36] Government of the Netherlands, Social and Cultural Planning Office,” “Muslims becoming more and more religious,” June 17, 2018, https://www.scp.nl/Nieuws/Moslims_steeds_religieuzer.
[37] “The Position of Muslims in the Netherlands: Facts and Figures.”
[38] Barahim and Ostawar, “The Political Participation of Dutch Muslims.”
[39] “Netherlands,” CIA World Factbook, January 12, 2017, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nl.html.
[40] Nico Landman, Van mat tot minaret: De institutionalisering van de islam in Nederland (Amsterdam 1992), 80-82.
[41] “The Netherlands,” United States Department of State, 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom.
[42] Freedom House, “Netherlands: Country Report,” Freedom in the World 2016, n.d., https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2016/netherlands.
[43] “Muslims becoming more and more religious,” Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.
[44] Ibid.
[45] AIVD, “The Transformation of Jihadism in the Netherlands: Swarm Dynamics and New Strength,” June 30, 2014, 26, https://english.aivd.nl/publications/publications/2014/10/01/the-transformation-of-jihadism-in-the-netherlands; AIVD, Annual Report 2015, 15.
[46] “Netherlands,” in United States Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015, n.d., https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/#wrapper.
[47] “Dijkhoff satisfied with outcome EU migration summit,” Government of the Netherlands, September 22, 2015, https://www.government.nl/topics/asylum-policy/news/2015/09/22/dijkhoff-satisfied-with-outcome-eu-migration-summit.
[48] “The influx of asylum seekers is changing in terms of composition,” Government of the Netherlands, March 14, 2016, https://www.government.nl/topics/asylum-policy/news/2016/03/14/the-influx-of-asylum-seekers-is-changing-in-terms-of-composition.
[49] Jacob Poushter, “European Attitudes of the Refugee Crisis,” Pew Research Center, September 16, 2016, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/16/european-opinions-of-the-refugee-crisis-in-5-charts/.
[50] Steven Erlanger, “Amid Rise of Multiculturalism, Dutch Confront Their Questions of Identity,” New York Times, August 13, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/world/europe/14dutch.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0; Laura Silver, “Immigration concerns fall in Western Europe, but most see need for newcomers to integrate into society,” Pew Research Center, October 22, 2018, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/22/immigration-concerns-fall-in-western-europe-but-most-see-need-for-newcomers-to-integrate-into-society/.
[51] Roel Meijer, “Political Islam According to the Dutch,” Foreign Policy Research Institute, March 2013, 84, https://www.fpri.org/docs/chapters/201303.west_and_the_muslim_brotherhood_after_the_arab_spring.chapter4.pdf.
[52] National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism, “Terrorist Threat Assessment for the Netherlands 46 (DTN 46),” November 2017.
[53] Erlanger, “Amid Rise of Multiculturalism, Dutch Confront Their Questions of Identity.”
[54] “Anti-ISIS coalition discusses global threat of ISIS,” Kingdom of the Netherlands, December 7, 2018, https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/latest-news/news/2018/12/06/anti-isis-coalition-discusses-global-threat-isis.
[55] Wendy Zeldin, “Netherlands: Three New Laws Adopted to Further Counterterrorism Efforts,” Global Legal Monitor, Library of Congress, March 2017, http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/netherlands-three-new-laws-adopted-to-further-counterterrorism-efforts/.
[56] Van Ginkel and Minks, 63.
[57] Erlanger, “Amid Rise of Multiculturalism, Dutch Confront Their Questions of Identity;” Ministry of Justice, Nota radicalisme en radicalisering, August 19, 2005; 5358374/05/AJS.
[58] Zeldin, “Netherlands: Two New Sets of Administrative Sanctions Proposed to Fight Terrorism.”
[59] National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism of the Netherlands, “About the NCTb,” n.d., https://english.nctv.nl/.
[60] “Netherlands Sets Plan on Extremism,” Associated Press, August 28, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/world/europe/28dutch.html?_r=0.
[61] Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior, “Operationeel Actieplan Polarisatie en radicalisering 2007-2011,” August 27, 2007, https://www.nyidanmark.dk/NR/rdonlyres/E9353925-A523-41C6-94F1-643EACF826CC/0/minbiz007_actieplanukv3.pdf
[62] Akerboom, “Ten Years of Dutch Counterterrorism Policy.”
[63] Ministry of Justice of The Netherlands, “Court has ruled in case of Hofstad group suspects,” March 10, 2006, https://www.refworld.org/docid/48196cb428.html
Janny Groen and Annieke Kranenberg, Strijdsters van Allah, Radicale moslima’s en het Hofstadnetwerk (Amsterdam: J.M. Meulenhoff, 2006) 69-99, 127-137; Teun Van Dongen, “The Case for Tailored Interventions in the Preventative Approach: Lessons from Countering Jihadism in the Netherlands and the UK,” Countering Terrorist Recruitment in the Context of Armed Counter-Terrorism Operations, S. Ekici et al. (Eds), IOS Press, 2016.
[64] “Small Dutch councils not taking anti-radicalisation role seriously,” DutchNews.nl, September 14, 2017, http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/09/small-dutch-councils-not-taking-anti-radicalisation-role-seriously/
[65] Kirsty Lang, “At home with ‘Professor Pim,’” BBC, May 4, 2002, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/1966979.stm.
[66] Lang, “At home with ‘Professor Pim.’”
[67] Ambrose Evans-Pritchard and Joan Clements, “Fortuyn killed ‘to protect Muslims,’” Telegraph (London), March 28, 2003, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/1425944/Fortuyn-killed-to-protect-Muslims.html
[68] “Parliament to press ahead with burqa dual nationality ban laws,” DutchNews.nl, May 31, 2013, http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2012/05/parliament_to_press_ahead_with.php.
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