„The LGBTQ+ community still faces discrimination, rejection and even violence. There is an impression that the harsh street culture is an important cause of this, but also that some perpetrators rely on their faith. This can and should never be a reason to commit criminal offences. That is why we – as representatives of religious organizations – want to make it clear to everyone that we completely reject discrimination and violence against the LGBTIQ+ community..”
If it were up to Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema, this draft statement of support would have been discussed during a meeting with mosque administrators on Monday evening. “To show that the mosques are a positive force in society”, the mayor wants as many mosque boards as possible to sign this so-called ‘Declaration of Amsterdam’, the boards read in the letter of invitation.
But after a storm of indignation broke out in the capital this weekend – because only Islamic but no Jewish or Christian organizations were invited – Halsema canceled the meeting on Monday due to lack of enthusiasm.
The Blue Mosque, for example, qualified the municipality’s conduct this weekend on Facebook as ‘absurd, discriminatory and accusatory’. The mosque calls the fight against discrimination good and states that it has always disapproved of any form of violence against every group of citizens on the basis of an “intrinsic conviction”. The fact that only mosques have been asked to speak out against anti-LGBTiq+ violence means, according to the Blue Mosque, that “the Islamic community is once again found guilty by a distrustful government until it proves the contrary.”
Party leader Sheher Khan of Denk Amsterdam states that mosque administrators are “furious” at the issue and have requested a debate. According to Khan, the municipality has created the impression that Muslims are held responsible for anti-LGBTiq+ violence.
That observation did not only come from Islamic quarters. Rabbi Lody van de Kamp suggested on Saturday in a column that “our Muslim compatriots” are made scapegoats again with “the selective invitation.” He pointed out that if such an invitation had been sent to synagogues, the National Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism would immediately be on his back feet.
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Mayor Halsema, on the other hand, called it “pertinently false” on Instagram on Sunday that only the Muslim community should sign the statement. Precisely a ‘widely supported initiative’ would be the intention. On Instagram, Halsema points to the passage in the accompanying letter that the statement would also be submitted to other religious organizations.
According to Halsema, the statement stems from two earlier meetings this year about safety and discrimination between Muslim organizations and the ‘triangle’ of mayor, police and Public Prosecution Service.
According to the mayor, in the last consultation in May, it was agreed that other faiths would also be approached to prevent Muslims from being wrongly seen as ‘problem owners’ of LGBTQ+ discrimination and violence.
It is unclear whether the ‘Declaration for Amsterdam’ will be forthcoming. A spokesperson for Halsema says that the municipality needs time to consider how to proceed after the escalation in recent days.
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