Nearly three-quarters of mosque boards in the Netherlands say they have no confidence in the government. Moreover, this distrust has increased over the past five years, mainly due to the outgoing cabinet’s stance on the war in Gaza. However, mosques do see points of contact.
This is according to research published on Tuesday by Movisie and Moslimpeil among board members of 82 mosques in the Netherlands. The research was commissioned by the National Coordinator against Discrimination and Racism.
The distrust among mosque boards is mainly fueled by doubts about the government’s stance on protecting freedom of religion and education. But also by secret investigations into mosques in the Netherlands and problems with arranging banking matters.
As a result, mosque boards feel criminalized. Also because the little contact they have with the government is about issues such as radicalization and security. On issues such as poverty reduction, which mosques are also involved in, there is hardly any contact between the government and mosque boards.
Trust in the local government is slightly better. More than a quarter of respondents say they have confidence in their municipality.
The willingness to work together with the government is there, however. According to the mosque boards, it is necessary for the government to be aware of the social role that mosques (can) play. Muslim discrimination must also be addressed, and freedom of religion and education must be protected. Furthermore, the mosque boards mainly want the government to approach them in a normal way.