: Slain Dutch Politician Made a Career of Slamming Islam

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The murder of Dutch right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn, apparently at the hands of an animal-rights activist (insert sigh of relief from Euro Muslims), comes just nine days before Dutch national elections in which polls had predicted he would win enough seats to lead one of the country’s largest parties. Fortuyn’s political rise is based mainly on his attacks on Islam and Muslims (nearly 10% of the Dutch population) whom he feels are unable to properly integrate into Dutch culture. He used his flamboyant gay identity as fuel for his fire against Islam, which – like many other religions – does not accept homosexuality. He slammed Islam as “backward” in a popular 1997 book entitled “Against The Islamisation Of Our Culture”. Fortuyn’s anti-crime, pro-individualism views struck a chord with voters – particularly among the young, and even a few Muslims – despite the country’s celebrated reputation for liberalism and religious tolerance. Nearly one half of Dutch 18-30 year-olds recently polled want to see an end to Muslim immigration, and declared their support for Fortuyn in the May elections. However, despite the death of Fortuyn and the election loss of Frances Jean-Marie (The hijab “protects us from ugly women“) Le Pen, anti-Muslim sentiment remains strong as Muslims struggle to find their place in Europe.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.