In collaboration with
RTV Utrecht
NOS News•today, 7.45pm•Corrected today, 8.47pm
Australian Islamic preacher Mohamed Hoblos will not be coming to Utrecht this weekend. He wanted to visit the Jaarbeurs to speak there, but he says he was denied access. It is not clear whether he is like that and who did it.
Hoblos was due to give a speech at the invitation of the Dawah Group foundation, but announced in a video on Facebook that he would not be physically present. The preacher states that the event will take place and invites people to participate.
Mayor against the arrival
Mayor Dijksma of Utrecht had previously announced that he was against Hoblos’ arrival. The reason was a message from De Telegraaf, which wrote that Hoblos is a hate preacher who makes radical statements.
“I think that if someone makes such extreme statements, they shouldn’t have a platform in Utrecht,” the mayor told the ANP news agency. “There is always room for dialogue and expression in our city, but not for calls to violence and incitement to hatred. We are in contact with the Jaarbeurs and the security services regarding the meeting and its interpretation “.
A spokesperson for Dijksma said it was not up to the municipality to ban Hoblos’ visit. The municipality was in discussions with the Jaarbeurs and the organization to see what the possibilities were.
Interested political parties
This morning it became clear that there were concerns in the House of Representatives about the possible arrival of the preacher this weekend. Christian Union, SGP, BBB, VVD and CDA feared that he would make extremist statements and had asked questions to outgoing Justice Minister Yesilgöz and State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Migration). They insisted on an entry ban for the preacher.
There were also concerns in Utrecht politics, reports RTV Utrecht. For example, the municipal factions of VVD, ChristenUnie, Horizon and Utrecht Solidair asked written questions about the now canceled visit.
2024-01-18 18:45:23
#Controversial #Islamic #preacher #Jaarbeurs #access #denied