Arnhem mayor wants ban on religious desecration to preserve democracy

Arnhem Mayor Ahmed Marcouch is calling on national lawmakers to ban the public desecration of religious and philosophical symbols and books, saying the restriction on free expression is necessary to preserve the democratic rule of law in the Netherlands. The ban should be implemented to prevent people from using such actions to deliberately provoke a violent response, he argued.

In a letter sent to Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgöz, Marcouch said that desecration of symbols and books people hold sacred should be considered a threat to national security because its intent is little more than to sow division and hatred. "I hope that you share the urgency and concerns with me and many Dutch people, and take your responsibility by imposing a ban on the demonstrative burning and destruction of religious and philosophical objects and symbols in public spaces," he wrote.

Yesilgöz has long been against a widespread ban, as suggested by Marcouch, defending people's freedom to demonstrate. "Where the freedom of one person promotes oppression or hatred of another, the law should provide protection," Marcouch argued. He said it should be classified similarly to criminally punishable hate speech, like categorically smearing entire groups of people, or inciting violence and threats.

He compared acts like destroying the Quran to the protests at the opening of the Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam by pro-Palestinian supporters, or burning a rainbow flag flown to support the LGBT community. "In this way, the right to demonstrate is abused to torpedo rights and tear communities apart. That is why we must oppose hatred and exclusion of Muslims and other religious minorities, against rising anti-Semitism and against discrimination against people because of their skin color or sexual orientation."

The Labour politician has been mayor of the 13th largest municipality in the Netherlands for seven years. In January, Dutch Pegida leader Edwin Wagensveld staged a protest in the Gelderland city where he and others lit a copy of the Quran on fire. Counter-demonstrators rioted, leaving Wagensveld and three police officers slightly hurt.

Marcouch initially defended the Pegida demonstration, saying it was deplorable but permissible under Dutch law as a fundamental right. Ten days later, Marcouch began to lobby for a ban on destroying the Islamic holy book, calling it "a poisonous act" that not only promotes a violent reaction, but also causes "toxic polarization" of society. The justice minister said it is not the government's job to limit free speech by clamping down on demonstrators considered to be tasteless.

Pegida's planned Quran burning set for a repeat performance last weekend was banned by the Arnhem mayor, who also slapped a restraining order on Wagensveld preventing him from entering the city for six months. Marcouch also banned Pegida from organizing events and protests there, saying he could "no longer guarantee public order and safety."

Wagensveld pledged to move forward with his demonstrations, which typically only attract a handful of supporters who are outnumbered by counter-protestors. "That book is going to be burned," he told Hart van Nederland last Thursday. "I am now going to choose the moment when we burn that book there, in Arnhem, because I will not let him take away my freedom of expression." His court challenge on the area ban will be heard on Wednesday.

His proposed protest in Arnhem did not materialize on Saturday, where a heavy police presence maintained order. A 38-year-old woman from Vorden was arrested after saying she was going to rip apart a copy of the Quran. She was also banned from entering the city again.

Arnhem is rather diverse, particularly based on nationality. Nearly 20 percent of the city's residents at the beginning of 2023 were born in another country, about 33,000 people in total. Another 24,500 residents were categorized as Dutch citizens with at least one parent born abroad. Where a third of people in Arnhem are either immigrants or have an immigrant parent, the national average is closer to one-fourth.

Immigration has also been a driver of Arnhem's population increase in recent years. Fewer than 150,000 people lived there in 2013, and the population was close to 166,000 at the start of 2023. On January 1, the city's population was estimated at about 168,000. Preliminary collected over the course of 2023 showed that over 5,100 immigrants moved to the city, while 3,500 Dutch citizens departed, on balance. People born to Arnhem parents barely outpaced deaths of the city's residents, adding only about 150 to the total population.