Debate Shariawijk

The article in Dagblad Trouw, from last Saturday, about the Islamization of the Schilderswijk in The Hague, has stirred up the politics in the Netherlands. A majority in the House supports the proposal of the PVV to have a debate, about the Schilderswijk and the status of Islamization, with Minister Ronald Plasterk of Internal Affairs and Vice Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher. There seem to be two camps in this discussion. One group of politicians says that the impression, described in the Trouw article, is overdone, while the other politicians are alarmed and want to start immediately with actions. Among the politicians who think that the article exaggerates the Islamization in the Schilderswijk are Lodewijk Asscher and some councilors, who have visited the neighborhood independently. On Saturday three councilors of The Hague made a tour in the Schilderswijk and had discussions with police and citizens. On Tuesday morning Lodewijk Asscher visited the Schilderswijk and made a tour together with a local police officer. Both the counselors and Asscher said after their visit, that the situation is not as bad as described in the Trouw article. Asscher spoke of a difficult neighborhood where many muslims live. He also mentioned that the Schilderswijk is known to have quite some crime. Geert Wilders speaks about a dangerous situation where radical muslims are gaining grounds. After the visit of Wilders on Tuesday afternoon, he said, “The PVV can not accept that even one centimeter of the Netherlands will come under sharia law. This is not Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Morocco. The Schilderwijk is a piece of the Netherlands and our rules and laws apply.” Other politicians, who support the PVV proposal for a debate, see it slightly different. They also say that the Schilderswijk is a difficult neighborhood with many muslim inhabitants, but they think more in a preventive way. They want to prevent that the neighborhood slips away and will become a place where jihadists will be recruited, and that’s their reason for having the debate with Asscher and Plasterk.