Reports by the local media have revealed that at least 10 towns and cities in the Netherlands have been “secretly investigating mosques and Islamic institutions through private companies,” as per a report by Middle East Eye.
A local daily NRC Handelsblad reported that mosque association officials and members active in the Muslim community were investigated by Nuance door Training and Advice (NTA) on behalf of municipalities, using unlawful undercover methods.
Reports reveal that the NTA staff entered mosques and visited community leaders without revealing their true identities in municipalities including Rotterdam, Delft, Almere, Huizen, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Zoetermeer, Veenendaal and Ede.
The investigations have cost an estimated total of $347,990, NRC Handelsblad reported.
The newspaper found out that investigative reports were written up, but were not made public nor shared with the municipal councils and the organisations that were investigated.
The Muslim community is disappointed at the news. They feel that they have been “othered” through these secret investigations carried out by these companies.
A statement was issued by Spior, an organisation representing Muslims which encourages their participation in Dutch society and called the investigations an example of Islamophobia.
“With a government that so violently and radically portrays the Muslim community as the ‘other’ and ‘potentially dangerous’, populism seems to have reached the upper government levels,” the organisation said in the statement.
Earlier this year, far-right politician Geert Wilders had campaigned to close mosques, Islamic schools and ban the Quran in the Netherlands. His party, the Party for Freedom (PVV), had also called for the establishment of a ministry for “repatriation” and “de-Islamification.”