Candidate poses with controversial UK Imam

Hassan Buyatui, PvdA candidate council member in Almere, was prominently present on a group photo with the controversial British Imam, Haitham al-Haddad. The photo raised more than eyebrows in his own party. The picture was taken during a visit the Imam paid to Muslim youth in Almere last month.

al-Haddad is notorious for his controversial statements. The Imam reportedly suggested that Osama bin Laden would enter heaven a martyr, he claimed that apostate Muslims and people who commit adultery should get the death penalty, and he justified suicide attacks. The Imam's visit caused commotion among his critics, especially in reference with his claims about homosexuality and adultery. Several local politicians were present during his lecture, among whom Marcel Bernard from the ChristenUnie. The PvdA fraction wants Buyatui, who ranks 22 on the PvdA list, to explain his presence in the picture