Wilders Visits 'Sharia District' in The Hague
THE HAGUE, 22/05/13 - Surrounded by security guards, Geert Wilders made a visit to the Schilderswijk district in The Hague on Tuesday afternoon. The Party for Freedom (PVV) leader decided on an inspection after Trouw newspaper reported last Saturday that the district is a Sharia stronghold where the police are no longer welcome.
Wilders claimed he wanted to buck up the few remaining white residents of the former working-class district. “The PVV does not accept that even one centimetre of the Netherlands should come under the barbarous Sharia law. This is simply a bit of the Netherlands where our laws and standards apply.” The stroll that Wilders took lasted only a quarter of an hour. The PVV leader did not speak with a single resident of the district. In fact, Vice-Premier and Integration Minister Lodewijk Asscher also visited the district in the morning, but there was much less media attention for this. The Hague district hit the headlines last week after Trouw wrote that it is known in local parlance as the Sharia Triangle. People with a dog are told to take it away, women with dresses above the knee are told to change their clothing and there are no cafes where alcohol is sold any more, according to the newspaper. Trouw also reported that the radical Islamic residents accept no police in the district. Station chief Michel de Roos denies this. "There is no question of a sort of Sharia police going around here which controls the population. The broad approach with neighbourhood intervention teams actually works very well.” Wilders wants a Lower House debate on the problems in the district. There is a realistic chance of him receiving support, as other parties are also concerned. Socialist Party MP Sadet Karabulut said she already warned earlier about the practices that Trouw is now describing. Labour (PvdA) will also likely want a debate. |