Preacher Mohamed Hoblos will not be present at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht on Friday, having been refused entry to the Netherlands. This was reported by Minister Dilan Yesilgõz.
Trouw editorial team January 18, 2024, 6.54pm
Hoblos’ possible arrival in the Netherlands was received poorly by the House of Representatives. The Christian Union, SGP, BBB, VVD and CDA have called for an entry ban on the Australian, which, among other things, glorifies the violence of the radical Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas and also calls on other Muslims to fully support it.
Hoblos would like to visit the Jaarbeurs to speak at the invitation of the Dawah Group foundation. The preacher had already praised Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel. He called it “a push.”
“Freedom of expression is a great asset, but in the Netherlands there is no place for people who spread extremist ideas,” says Yeşilgöz. Hoblos is registered in the Schengen Information System (SIS), in which European countries share, among other things, information on extremists. “This person will therefore be denied entry to the Netherlands,” the minister said.
Mayor Sharon Dijksma of Utrecht also spoke out Thursday against Hoblos’ arrival. “I think that if someone makes such extreme statements, they shouldn’t have a platform in Utrecht,” she said. “There is always room for dialogue and expression in our city, but not for calls to violence and incitement to hatred.”
According to a spokesperson for the municipality of Utrecht, it currently appears that the preacher “will not speak” at the Jaarbeurs. “If he does so via video link, we will evaluate with the various parties how to deal with the matter,” the spokesperson said.
The organizer doesn’t understand the fuss
The organizer of the event in Jaarbeurs, Dawah Group, does not understand the furore surrounding the controversial preacher. The Dawah Group says it was not aware that it was not welcome in the Schengen area. “Even the image we have of him is different from what we read in the various media today”. The organization says it is not aware of any examples where the preacher “as an individual has ever been specifically linked to, suspected or prosecuted for involvement in any form of (recruitment for) terrorism.”
According to the Dawah group, “Hoblos is an Islamic preacher with great popularity within the Islamic community in the West.” He was asked to give an “inspirational lesson on the purpose of life, how to be a good Muslim to your loved ones and how to be an asset to society.”
The Dawah Group says the intentions and dangers attributed to Hoblos are at odds with what he represents and “are at odds with what Hoblos was asked to talk about. We are convinced that if the conference had taken place, it would have been a very positive lesson and that subsequently such descriptions would no longer apply.”
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2024-01-18 17:54:28
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