وزير العدل الهولندي: الشريعة الإسلامية يمكن أن تطبق في هولندا إذا كانت خيار الأغلبية

Quote: Dutch minister sparks row with Sharia remarks Wed Sep 13, 2006 01:58 PM ET AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Comments by the Dutch justice minister that Sharia law could be introduced if two-thirds of the population supported it have unleashed a political storm in the Netherlands, where immigration is a hotly debated issue. Anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders has called for an emergency parliamentary debate on Thursday morning to discuss the remarks made by Piet Hein Donner in a book published on Wednesday, a government spokesman said. Donner distanced himself from the row late on Wednesday, telling Dutch news agency ANP: "People are trying to put the words in my mouth, saying I am in favor of introducing Sharia law but that is not the case." The minister said that Sharia law ran counter to the Dutch constitution, although in theory the constitution could be amended if a majority of the Dutch population wanted the Islamic law introduced. The scale of the reaction to his remarks, made in the book "Land of Hate and Envy" about changes in the Netherlands over the last 15 years, astonished him, he said. The densely populated Netherlands has about 1 million Muslims among its population of 16 million. But a government study said last week that Muslims would make up 8 percent of the Dutch population by 2020 from about 6 percent now. However, the study noted that the rise in the growth of the Muslim population, which accelerated in the last few decades due to mass immigration from Turkey and Morocco, would likely slow in the future. Immigration, particularly of Muslims, has been a hot topic in the Netherlands since the murder of popular anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn in 2002. Concern about the radicalization of the Muslim minority was further stoked two years later when a Dutch Muslim murdered a filmmaker critical of Islam. Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk, who has pushed through tough new policies such as Dutch language and culture tests for new immigrants, agreed Donner's remarks were theoretical. "Our democracy is much more than the might of the majority. People fought for years for fundamental values. These jar with Sharia. I trust in the fact that we will stick by fundamental values such as the equality of man and woman in our democracy," she said. © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.