Radical Islamist Mohamed Hoblos barred from entering the Netherlands for Utrecht event

Controversial Islamic speaker Mohamed Hoblos will not be allowed to enter the Netherlands, Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz confirmed on Thursday night. He was supposed to give a speech at an event in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht this weekend, but cancelled claiming he was denied access without saying by whom.

"Freedom of expression is a great asset, but there is no place in the Netherlands for people who propagate extremist ideas," said Yeşilgöz. Hoblos is registered in the Schengen Information System (SIS), in which European countries share information about extremists, and others deemed undesireable. "That is why this person will be denied entry to the Netherlands," the minister said.

The possible arrival of Hoblos in the Netherlands was also poorly received by the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. The ChristenUnie, SGP, BBB, VVD and CDA urged the Ministry of Justice and Security to enforce an entry ban against the Australian-Lebanese man who glorifies the violence by the radical Islamic Palestinian movement Hamas, and also calls on other Muslims to fully support it.

Utrecht Mayor Sharon Dijksma also spoke out on Thursday against the possible arrival of Hoblos. "I think that if someone makes such extreme statements, he should not be given a stage in Utrecht," she said. "There is always room for dialogue and expression in our city, but not for calls for violence and hate speech."

According to a spokesperson for the municipality of Utrecht, it currently appears that the preacher "will not speak" at the Jaarbeurs. "If he does do so via a video connection, we will look at how we will deal with this with the various parties," the spokesperson said.

The organizer of the event, Dawah Group, announced on their Facebook page that it will share more information and further details on Friday now that the preacher is no longer coming. A spokesperson for the Jaarbeurs said on Thursday evening that it had no new information about the event.

The organizer does not understand the commotion surrounding Hoblos. The Dawah Group said it was unaware that he wasn’t welcome in the Schengen area. “The image we have of him is also different from the image we now read in various media.” It said it knows of no examples in which the preacher “as an individual has been concretely linked to, suspected of, let alone prosecuted for involvement of any form of (recruitment for) terrorism.”

According to the Dawah Group, “Hoblos is an Islamic preacher with great popularity within the Islamic community in the West.” The organization asked him to give a “motivational lecture on the purpose of life, how to be a good Muslim to your loved ones, and how to be an asset to society.”