Cultural Enrichment News from the Netherlands

Our Flemish correspondent VH has translated several articles featuring the latest culturally enriched news from the Netherlands. First, an article from Elsevier concerning corporal punishment administered to children in mosques:

Children physically punished in the mosque

By Marlou Visser

The city council in the Hague this week found that many children are punished physically during Koran lessons in the mosque. According to the “Partnership of Moroccan Dutch” [Samenwerkingsverband van Marokkaanse Nederlanders, SNM] this is also common elsewhere in the Netherlands.

The GGD [health department] in The Hague wants to investigate the alleged child abuse.

Since April of this year 49 tips about child abuse in the mosque were received. The municipality filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor

We know from our own network that it happens more often that children receive corporal punishment,” Farid Azarkan, Chairman of the Interest group of Moroccans in the Netherlands [belangenvereniging van Marokkanen in Nederland], said on Wednesday to the Dutch newswire ANP.

The SMN writes in a press release that corporal punishment violates the rights of the child. It calls on the Boards of the mosques to punish the teachers responsible for the violations.

In addition, Ahmed Marcouch, the Moroccan-Dutch [Socialist] District Chairman for Slotervaart in Amsterdam had already indicated that during the Koran Lessons and Arabic lessons children are physically punished.

According to Marcouch, integration is thus severely damaged. Marcouch then recommended Koran lessons in public schools.

This idea was not well- received by the Amsterdam PvdA [Socialists, who have ruled Amsterdam for decades].

Note from VH:

Marcouch is very likely a closet Salafist and Muslim Brotherhood infiltrator in Dutch politics. For example, he has openly shown great admiration for Sayyid Qutb and the Islamo-Nazi Al Qaradawi, whom he wanted to invite as a bridge-builder after the murder of Theo Van Gogh.

Also from Elsevier, an opinion piece about the growing trend towards swimming pools that are segregated by sex:
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Segregated swimming is supported apartheid

“Muslim women do not swim with men.”

by Paul Lieben

Splash! It is rather ironic that almost to the day that segregated swimming is abolished in The Hague, Amsterdam is planning to introduce it.

It is also significant for the (self-chosen) struggle of administrators and politicians with the increasingly inappropriate demands of the Islam.

All sorts of fallacies are again invoked to keep or to introduce segregated swimming. It was also common in the Netherlands in the old days. In the old days, yes, but we are past that stage.

And if there are young Moroccans harassing girls and women (which is less often mentioned in the debates), they should just ban those little creeps from the pool.

Another interesting argument against abolition: otherwise the Muslim women who want to swim become isolated, so this is just the prelude to integration. This is really a laughable argument for anyone who knows what goes on in such an apartheid-hour

The shutters were literally down in the swimming pool “De Houtzagerij” [The wood mill]. There was obviously no man allowed, but also no male staff. What a celebration of integration that was! And ineffective: moving on to regular swimming hours was out of question.

Unreal wishes

Municipal pools are expensive, and there is often a shortage of opening hours. It is then not done to cut up the publicly paid hours on absurd people and their wishes. If they absolutely have to swim separated, then they may go to the hammam or any gym that offers that, assuming that they are not publicly funded.

Socialist MP (PvdA) Pierre Heijnen complained on his blog that in his time as alderman and when Wim Deetman (CDA, Christian Democrat) was mayor of The Hague, that would never have happened… the stopping of segregated swimming hours.

What he as a progressive (in name at least) should ask himself is: why did that never happen, and why did I never tried to put and end to that as an alderman?

The Hague

And oh yes, the issue of separate swimming in The Hague has been put on the agenda there by me personally. I once noticed it and put it into the Integration Note. Alderman Sander Dekker and others have now made good use of that.

Thanks for your support still, boys and girls! Go for a swim!

Finally, from RKnieuws.net:

Halal Christmas dinner at Catholic school in Weert

The Roman Catholic Odaschool in Weert will serve Christmas dinner this year with halal-only meat for the approximately 400 students. This is primarily to address the concerns of a dozen Muslim families.

Christmas dinner at the school is organized every year in cooperation with the parents’ association. According acting director Margo Janssen, the Odaschool, with a dozen Muslim students, decided for practical reasons to serve the children only halal meat (meat from animals slaughtered according to Islamic requirements).

Christian thought

“In previous years we took into account the Muslims and therefore we had to separate the meat for them. Now everyone gets halal meat, so we don’t have to do that.” Furthermore the action, according to the acting director, fits with Christian thought, for it is good to take account of others.

Eight complaints received

Jean Paul van der Donk, chairman of the parents’ association, said that eight complaints have been received from angry parents. According to him it is important that parents understand the consideration for the Muslim-friendly meat was not for religious reasons, but purely for practical reasons. “As an aside, it is also not forbidden for Catholics to eat halal meat, while opposite is the case for Muslims.”

VH adds this note, a comment from GeenStijl:

We are not talking about a public school here that really should apply the “drop dead with your filthy religion”-mentality, but with a specifically Roman Catholic Christian school. Serving halal-only meat is also explained in the “ it is good to take account of others, a very Christian thought” way. Right. Well, we do know a few more that way. Those Catholics are simply in a pragmatic process to hedge themselves, in case the Muslims are later found to be right, and they see those 72 virgins pass by their noses. Muhammad 1-0. Bon appetit!

For a complete listing of previous enrichment news, see The Cultural Enrichment Archives.