Racist Dutch MP Geert Wilders has attacked Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende following the monarch’s visit to a mosque.
Queen Beatrix removed her shoes on entering the Mobarak Mosque in The Hague on 3 June and refrained from shaking hands with Muslim men in accordance with their strict religious beliefs. The visit was to mark the 50th anniversary of the building of the mosque. Wilders said on Wednesday he was angry with the Queen and Balkenende. In an extraordinary outburst, he accused them of “dhimmi behaviour”.
Balkenende got involved when he made a call for tolerance for all religions during a speech on Tuesday evening. Stating that Muslims also have a right to freedom of religion, he said being allowed this freedom helped people feel more welcome in society. He held up the Queen’s visit to the mosque as an example of tolerance in action.
Wilders said he was “irritated purple” at the Queen’s decision not to shake hands with men at the mosque. “The Queen and Prime Minister Balkenende are putting Dutch norms and values in a bargain sale. Particularly now that the behaviour of the Queen is being presented by the Prime Minister as an example of tolerance,” Wilders said.
The MP said the Queen and Balkenende are far too tolerant while the number of mosques in the Netherlands is fast increasing and more imams are coming here. “We must instead make the case for Dutch norms and values”, Wilders said.