Amsterdam, (IINA) - Out of Hollands population
of 15.6 million, Muslims make up half a million,
which is ten-fold than that it was in 1971.
Now the Islamic atmosphere in Holland has
become common feature, with mosques and Islamic
schools in existence in various parts of the
country.
The Dutch government does not interfere in the
religious affairs of any community, and seeks to
integrate the various minorities in the country
into the Dutch society, so that they
can participatein the democratic practices of
the country and do away with racial inclinations.
Holland itself was inhabited by very few Muslims
since the last half century or so, though the
majority of those that were encompassed by the
Dutch Empire were Muslims, because, up to 1949,
its borders included Muslim Indonesia. In Surinam
also there is a sizeable Muslim community, of Indian
descent.
In the sixties there was a shortage of manpower
in Holland and the country had to look for foreign
labor outside its borders, so that its economy could
be activated, and for this reason there was a
movement of people from such Mediterranean countries
as Turkey and Morocco. Though in 1974 Holland put a
stop to the importation of foreign labor, it did not
stop the current of immigration from such
countries, and many of theresident workers started
to bring in their families. There was also a wave of
immigration from Surinam, before its independence in
1975, and most of the immigrants were Muslims.
Muslims now comprise four percent of the Dutch
population, with the ethnic Turks being the majority
in the Muslim community, in that they number about
270,000. This is followed by the Moroccan ethnic
community, numbering 225,000, while the Surinamese
community come third, numbering 50,000 in all.
Additionally, there are Muslims who came to Holland as
refugees, from such countries as Iran, Iraq, Somalia,
Ethiopia, Egypt, Afghanistan, the former Soviet Union,
and Bosnia.
In 1971, Muslims in Holland numbered 54,000, in 1975
the figure went up to 108,000, in 1980 it was 225,000,
and in 1997 it reached the 573,000 mark.
Clause No. 1 of the Dutch Constitution stipulates that
all the residents of Holland shall enjoy equal rights,
and the constitution also forbids any form of
discrimination on grounds of religion, faith, politics,
sex, or ethnic origin. This means that the Muslims also
enjoy equal rights as those enjoyed by the Christians.
But coupled with these rights, there are also
responsibilities that go hand in hand with them, such
as the payment of taxes, as well as compulsory
education. This means that up to the age of 16, every
child must go to school, including the children of
residents.
Those who have taken up Dutch citizenship also enjoy
equal rights as their Dutch-born counterparts,
including the rights to vote or stand for election
on the national level, while at the local level
even residents enjoy such rights. It is reported
that over 100 Muslims hold elective offices at the
local level.
There is complete religious freedom in Holland, on
both the level of the individual and at the communal
level, and religion is separated from the state.
This means that the government does not interfere
in the affairs of religious bodies, while at the same
time such bodies do not interfere in affairs of the
state.
At the moment there are about 200 mosques scattered
in various parts of Holland, that were built by each
of the various ethnic groups, while Muslim cemeteries
also can be found in dozens of towns and cities. In
fact, right up to the eighties, the Dutch Government
used to give subventions for the construction of
mosques and churches, but this came to an end after
it was decided that this was contrary to the idea
of separating religion from the state. So now the
onus of building mosques has been left to the
Islamic organizations.
Even in the private sector, Muslims enjoy a measure
of freedom, such as flexible hours during the
fasting month of Ramadhan, while some enterprises
allocate special prayer areas for their Muslim workers.
Circumcision is practiced in many of the hospitals in
Holland, while the wearing of the Hijab by Muslim
women has become a common sight at schools and at
university campuses. But at some of the private schools
the practice is somewhat discouraged, and there is
nothing that the government could do about it, since
they enjoy a large measure of freedom to run their
affairs.
As far as slaughterhouses are concerned, and in keeping
with the practice in other European Union countries,
the government of Holland has set aside special
abattoirs for slaughtering animals according to the
Islamic Sharia. Thus there are more than 500 Islamic
slaughterhouses, out of a total number of 4,500.
But the government of Hollands policy is that of social
integration,regardless of religious affiliation, though
some of the ethnic minorities suffer from a number of
drawbacks, such as the linguistic barrier and other
stumbling blocks.
The rate of unemployment among the ethnic minorities
is around 20 percent, though this segment forms only
five percent of the labor force.The government is
therefore working toward improving the lot of this
segment of the society in Holland, and integrating
them within the Dutch society as a whole, not only
by providing employment opportunities for them, but
also by teaching them skills and the Dutch language.
The government of Holland is now in the process of
initiating the appointment of Muslim chaplains in
prisons and asylums, and for this purpose will form
an Advisory Commission, for purposes of reference.
Thus, in order to take care of the spiritual life
of the inmates of prisons, the government in Holland
would shoulder the responsibility of paying the
salaries and other emoluments of such appointees,
provided the appointees can carry out their duties
using the Dutch language.
There are denominational schools in Holland, such as
those of the Catholics and the Protestants, but the
Muslims alsohave about 30 such schools. But the
secular curriculum applies to all, while education
is compulsory for all, so that no segment of the
society can be left behind as far as education is
concerned.
Public schools are free to introduce religious
education, and in this connection both Islamic
and Christian studies are taught in many such
schools. The students at such schools are free
to chose either Arabic or Turkish as a second
language. It is also expected that this year(2000)
a Muslim secondary school will be established in
Rotterdam.
Islam and Islamic studies, including Arabic and
other Muslims languages, are also given their due
importance at the higher level of education,
and there are several lecturers who lecture on
such subjects at the university level. At the
University of Amsterdam there is a Chair for
Islamic Studies and it is funded by private
organizations.
In 1998, the Dutch Institute for Islamic Studies
in the Contemporary World was opened in Leiden,
and, as the name implies, it focuses mainly on
Islamic studies. The government is also funding
the training of Imams, as it does with other
religious denominations. At the moment, about 50
Imams are drawn from Turkey and Morocco every year,
and the first year of their residence is used by
the government to induct them in Dutch society,
and this includes the learning of the Dutch
language. Such induction courses are followed by
examinations not only in the language, but also to
assess the ability of the fresh waves of Imams.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment