THE HAGUE, 28/03/07 - Conservative (VVD) MP Henk Kamp is proposing that hindering integration deliberately be made a criminal offence.

According to Kamp, it should be possible to punish imams who thwart integration by taking their Dutch nationality from them. "In addition, it should be possible to close down the mosques where they preach", Kamp stated in TV programme NOVA.

Kamp was reacting to statements by imam Salam from Tilburg, who is believed to have preached that Muslims should not pay taxes. In December, Mayor Ruud Vreeman secretly warned the Syrian imam that he does not belong in the Netherlands, but since he cannot be deported, this was an empty threat.

The imam not only possesses a Dutch passport, but freedom of religion is so powerful in the Netherlands that almost any statement is permissible provided it is made on religious grounds. According to Kamp, the imam could however be deported if the deliberate thwarting of integration became a criminal offence.