The Vrije Universitieit in Amsterdam will soon be offering free Dutch language and culture courses to imams, Trouw reports. 

Most of these Muslim clerics were trained in turkey, Morocco or Egypt and often only speak the language that they were trained in, according to the newspaper. They often also lack knowledge about life in the Netherlands. The Vrije Universiteit wants to offer them the opportunity to change this.

According to a spokesperson for the contact committee between Muslims and the Dutch government CMO, the leadership of imams is now more important than ever, given the rise of radicalization and extremism. "The urgency increased in recent years. Young people don't go to the imam because he doesn't speak their language, with all its consequences."

Along with the language courses for imams, the VU and CMO are also together working on vocational training to become an imam.