DUTCH CONSERVATIVE ENCOURAGES FIGHTBACK

An outspoken Dutch conservative, possibly reacting to Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner's speculation on the introduction of Sharia law, demands that the Dutch not surrender to Islamic fundamentalists:

"We should take a look at America. (...) They are harsher and clearer over there. You may rage inside the mosque but not outside. You are free to isolate yourself if you wish, but you will have to reap what you sow."

"If you isolate yourself in the Netherlands, the community is saddled with the financial consequences. You demand the right to apply for a job wearing a burqa and when you fail to get a job you feel you're entitled to an allowance. (...) An Amsterdammer must have the guarantee that Amsterdam will always be Amsterdam, a city (...) where Dutch principles prevail."

"When the Queen did not shake hands with men in the Moubarek Mosque in The Hague, Prime Minister Balkenende said that was fine. Nonsense of course, people shake hands in the Netherlands; that is the custom here. Balkenende is causing a great deal of damage by saying this. The same applies to the cuddling talk of Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen. It is counterproductive."

The outspoken Dutchman is moderate Muslim Hikmat Mahawat Khan. Khan's no fool, he knows that moderate Muslims, who are doing quite nicely in a secular Holland, would be doomed in a Sharia state.