The Muslim community in Drenthe has received mixed reactions to the PVV’s election win. Yasar Eraslan of the Hicret Mosque in Hoogeveen is not personally concerned, while Beyza Selvili of the Turkish mosque in Assen thinks that a large proportion of Muslims are shocked by the result.
“If I fill in the electoral guide, PVV will emerge,” Eraslan jokes. He also agrees with the PVV to ban more asylum seekers. “There are also fortune seekers. And for those who come here, they have to behave normally.”
Eraslan calls it inappropriate that the PVV says that there is no room for Islam in the Netherlands. “We simply have freedom of religion. Wilders says a lot, but is it feasible? Ultimately, it’s about implementation. We’ll see. We just have to stay sober.”
Eraslan fears that polarization will worsen due to the PVV’s victory. “You couldn’t say certain things twenty years ago, but now you can. Swearing at Turks and Moroccans has become normal. That doesn’t benefit the Netherlands. If all foreigners leave the Netherlands, the Netherlands will collapse. Wilders would separate the wheat from the chaff.” should divorce. He should think: who do I have in front of me? My father came here in the 1960s as a guest worker and I have been working in the Netherlands for 44 years. I have always contributed,” said Eraslan.
Selvili of the Turkish mosque in Assen says he is shocked by the results. “I think this also applies to a large part of the Muslim community. His hatred of Islam means that I and most Muslims do not support Wilders.” She personally does not know any Muslims who voted for the PVV.
She thinks and hopes that it will not come to the point that he will close mosques and Islamic primary schools. “It would be very wrong in a country like the Netherlands where all faiths are accepted, that only Islam is not welcome. In principle, the Netherlands is a free country. Closing the mosques prohibits us Muslims from being able to practice our faith.”
She believes that the PVV also has good views, such as lowering taxes and less money for climate.
At the International Transition Class (ISK) in Assen, the election results are also the talk of the day among the staff. The ISK is a school for young newcomers from 12 to 18 years old, in many cases they are refugees. With PVV as the big winner in the elections, the question is what this will mean for the newcomer school.
School director Karin Zwiers emphasizes that the ISK is neutral when it comes to politics. “But it does have an impact on colleagues. Because what will be the consequences for our school? What will happen to the legislation and regulations? And of course we have to wait and see which cabinet will soon be rolled out,” says Zwiers.
According to the director, it is still too early to notice the impact on the students: “What the consequences of this result could be is still difficult for the students to understand. For several of them, democracy is a new concept at all.”
The ISK has recently done a lot with the House of Representatives elections. “Citizenship is a big theme at school, we also paid a lot of attention to politics and elections. It is important for young people to form their own opinion. So we highlighted all parties. The interest in politics among the number of students is large,” explains Karin Zwiers. “We also had a polling station at one of our schools, where we were able to show how we deal with elections in the Netherlands. Then the stories of children who have had different experiences come to light.”
Judith van de Vooren is director of asylum seekers’ center school De Hesselanden and the Expertise Center for Foreign Languages in Emmen. “It is difficult to respond in detail to the election results now. I notice that I personally have the feeling that let’s wait and see what will happen. But of course I am concerned. You also notice that colleagues have a lot of disagreements among themselves. We now have to wait and see what kind of cabinet we get and then see what we can still achieve.”