Rotterdam blocks Salafist school in former ROC building

The municipality of Rotterdam blocked the opening of a Salafist school in the former ROC building on Vorkstraat by buying the building itself, the Telegraaf reports.

Getting help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch embassy in Qatar, Rotterdam managed to convince the financers - Sheikh Eid Charitable Association - to drop their plans for the Salafist school. Part of the agreement was that the municipality will take over the building. Buying the building cost the municipality 1.7 million euros, the same amount the association paid for it.

"In any case there will be no Salafist school", a municipal spokesperson said to the newspaper. What will happen in the building is still unclear. "The building will have some social purpose", according to the spokesperson.