Sharia4Holland was an Islamist movement that sought to institute

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

law in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The group was an offshoot of the Belgian extremist network Sharia4Belgium.

History

At the height of the

Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist Social movement, socio-political movement that expressed opposition to Social equality, social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of real democracy around the world. It aimed primar ...

in 2011, members of Sharia4Holland were first observed handing out

radical Islamic Islamic extremism refers to extremist beliefs, behaviors and ideologies adhered to by some Muslims within Islam. The term 'Islamic extremism' is contentious, encompassing a spectrum of definitions, ranging from academic interpretations of Sup ...

flyers at protests in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

and

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, resulting in their monitoring by the

General Intelligence and Security Service The General Intelligence and Security Service ( ; AIVD) is the intelligence and security agency of the Netherlands, tasked with domestic, foreign and signals intelligence and protecting national security as well as assisting the Five Eyes in i ...

(AIVD). During a debate in De Balie in Amsterdam with Tofik Dibi of

GroenLinks (, ; GL) is a Green politics, green List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four Left-wing politics, left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Neth ...

on 7 December 2011, a group of twenty Muslim radicals stormed the premises, throwing eggs and clamoring for the execution of

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer Irshad Manji, who was present talking about her book ''Allah, Liberty and Love''. The disturbance was brought to an end by the

riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police officers who act in the role of riot police in particular situations, or they may be separate unit ...

. Two men from Belgium, 19 and 22 year old members of Sharia4Holland, were arrested for their insulting and threatening behaviour. On 25 May 2012, the movement held a press conference on the

Dam Square Dam Square or the Dam () is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital and most populated city of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the best-known and most important locations in the city and the country. ...

with

Anjem Choudary Anjem Choudary (, aka Abu Luqman; born 18 January 1967) is a British Islamist who has been described as "the face" of militant Islamism or the "best known" Islamic extremist in Britain. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2024 after being ...

of Islam4UK, self-titled the ''Global Shariah Conference''. During the conference, a spokesman for Sharia4Holland proclaimed that noted Islam critic

Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing p ...

will be 'dealt with' when the Netherlands becomes an

Islamic state The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

and that the Dutch should 'learn from the case of Theo van Gogh'. He was arrested for this

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

, summoned and released forty-eight hours later.

Criticism

Several Dutch politicians have criticized Sharia4Holland, including a number from Islamic backgrounds.

Ahmed Marcouch Ahmed Marcouch (; born 2 May 1969) is a Moroccan-Dutch politician, former police officer, civil servant and educator serving as Mayor of Arnhem since 2017. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he was a member of the House of Representatives from ...

of the Labour Party (PvdA) called the ideas of organization violent, Coşkun Çörüz with the

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands. Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...

(CDA) wanted measures to be taken and Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party (Netherl ...

(VVD) referred to their intimidating behavior as 'impossible'. Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) wanted an outright ban on the movement.Politici vrezen geweld radicale moslimgroep

Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' (; ), also known by its initialism ''AD'' () is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is headquartered i ...

9 December 2011

References

{{reflist, 2 Islam in the Netherlands Islam-related controversies in Europe Political controversies in the Netherlands Religious controversies in the Netherlands Religious organisations based in the Netherlands Sharia in Europe

History

Criticism

See also

References