Serious threats have arrived at the Blue Mosque in recent days. According to head imam Yassin Elforkani, this is partly due to the suggestive question posed by the parliamentary interrogation committee of the House of Representatives about unwanted influence from unfree countries. “They really have to realize what they have been doing to us lately.”
The threats, often done via social media, go far. Until death. “Let’s set fire to the tent, such threats,” says Elforkani. He makes a direct link with the committee, which last week questioned the chairman of the Blue Mosque, Jacob van der Blom, very firmly about the money that flows from abroad to the mosque.
“Perhaps this is the time to appeal to part of Dutch society: Please stop threatening us, because we are not the danger. We want to go hand in hand with you to combat any kind of extremist ideology. “
“Large bags of cash”
Elforkani says he has particular difficulty with the way the questions were asked by the interrogation committee. According to him, those questions were too closed. “If you ask,” Do you get large bags of cash? “” And my chairman wants to answer that in a comprehensive way and you intervene and say, “No, I want you to say yes or no.” is about Muslim Brotherhood, a scary group, as defined by the committee, that is elusive. If you suggest that all, then I can quite understand that some people say: “If you can’t do anything about it, we will go there do something about it. “
Proponent of foreign financing
Elforkani says he has never received money from the Muslim Brotherhood movement. But he did say earlier this week that he was in favor of building new mosques in the Netherlands, financed with foreign money. The Blue Mosque was also built with financing from abroad.
The Blue Mosque, for example, was built with money from Kuwait, where Islam is a state religion; very different than in the Netherlands. According to Elforkani, it is not the case that Kuwait also determines what happens in the mosque.
“What happens in Kuwait is up to them. We are about the Netherlands and you are here in front of a Blue Mosque: a Dutch name, where Dutch is spoken, where younger generations come to. Dutch people can’t do it. “ The money for the mosque came from Kuwait because it is not in the Netherlands, says the imam. “It’s about expensive buildings.”
These large sums of money are not transferred ‘just like that’, Elforkani says. It goes through a fund where applications can be submitted. ‘That happens in the Netherlands. That happens in Europe. That happens in all sorts of other countries. “ If Kuwait is the problem then he says it is strange that the Dutch government itself maintains good relations with the country.
Regarding the fear that with the money radical ideas will also find their way into the mosques, Elforkani says: “I’m going over that. I am the driver and I ensure that there are no radical imams. I cannot offer you better proof. ‘
–
