The Words of the Koetsier Family
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The Words of the Koetsier Family |
After the October 24 Amsterdam Unification Church Sunday Service, Universal Peace Federation Secretary General Wim Koetsier read out an article "Wilders' Beleid: Spiegelbeeld van de Sharia"(Wilders' policies: mirror image of Sharia) by Dr. Jan A. Schulp, who described himself as a VVD member and citizen.
The article may be seen at www.oslactueel.nl/sta2dvast_7/wilders.door_jan_schulp.pdf
Mr. Koetsier said he considered the article important, not least since it had been written by a member of the VVD -- People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, generally considered to be "on the right" of politics (before forming his own Partij voor de Vrijheid -- PVV, Wilders represented the VVD).
In his article, Dr. Schulp comments that "in these restless days" it seems to be Geert Wilders who is setting the political agenda, deciding the major topic for discussion in The Netherlands. However, Dr. Schulp asserts, while some of Wilders' concerns might have some validity his conclusions are incorrect.
He firstly argues that Wilders insisting that Islam is not a religion but a political ideology is "irrelevant": the freedom to hold and promote political opinions is protected under the Dutch Constitution just as much as the freedom of religion.
Secondly, regarding Wilders calling for specific laws to restrict Muslims. Dr. Schulp is opposed to making laws for particular members of society and opines that existing laws ware sufficient to deal with any problems. In the past, the law may have not always been applied in a disinterested manner, which could have thrust those who felt prejudiced against to extremist views. This should be recified. Of course, there can be no question of Sharia law taking precedence over Dutch national law. Dr. Schulp says Wilders' proposals are the mirror image of Sharia.
If the existing laws are applied fairly, he suggests, Wilders and his supporters can lose their fears and we can have "normal" political discussion and a "normal" society.