Hague councillor tries Allah oath; Mayor rebuffs

A municipal council member from The Hague who wanted to mention Allah while swearing his oath of office was reprimanded by mayor Van Aartsen. During the installation of the newly formed council, Hasan Küçük of the Islam-Democrats wanted to end his oath with "so help me Allah." Mayor Van Aartsen said "you know that the text sounds different." Küçük consequently ended his oath with usual "so help me God almighty." Calling to God is allowed to be replaced with "This I swear and promise." Küçük, in a statement to the Telegraaf, said "it is no longer of this time. It must be left open." The two other muslims in the municipal council, one of whom is a party colleague of Küçük, opted for the traditional formulation of the oath.