Actually, Zakaria (25) and his friends don’t understand it at all. Especially for this evening, they came from Maaseik, Belgium, to the Utrecht Jaarbeurs, where the Islamic Dawah Group is organizing an event. But the main act, the Australian preacher Mohamed Hoblos, had to be replaced at the eleventh hour because he was denied entry to the Netherlands.
Minister Dilan Yesilgöz (Justice and Security, VVD) decided this, among other things, because Hoblos allegedly defended the Hamas attack on Israel in a speech. “There is no place in our country for people who propagate extremist ideas,” the minister said on X.
Her decision led to incomprehension among visitors to the five-hour event ‘The Purpose of Life’, where speakers alternated with prayer. Many refer to the events in Arnhem last week. There, Pegida leader Edwin Wagensveld tried to burn a Koran. This action was reported in advance to the municipality. The burning ultimately failed, Wagensveld was attacked by angry counter-demonstrators. The police had to release him.
“It is contradictory,” say two young women from IJsselstein who want to remain anonymous. “The Quran may be burned and Islam may be criticized, but gaining knowledge about the faith is prohibited.”
There are crowds at the Jaarbeurs. As the sun sets, hundreds of people walk towards Hall 12 for the Dawah evening. Some in long coats, neatly made up and with their arms linked, others in sweatpants. Mainly people in their twenties, but also families with teenagers.
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Palestinians
Many attendees NRC spoke at the Jaarbeurs, that banning Hoblos and at the same time allowing Quran burnings constitutes double standards. “I don’t think it’s possible,” says Kaan (16) from Eindhoven. “Why can a Koran be burned?” In addition, says the boy, “an Islamic speaker who gives his opinion, which is not necessarily violent, is immediately labeled an extremist.”
There is a difference between the two events. Edwin Wagensveld had reported the action in Arnhem to the municipality. Mayor Marcouch later announced that the manifestation met all the conditions. That is why Wagensveld was given permission. The preacher’s arrival in Utrecht, on the other hand, was not stopped by the congregation, but by the minister. The reason was that Hoblos is registered in the Schengen Information System. This is a list on which European countries share information about extremists, among other things.
The refusal to allow him to enter the Netherlands followed parliamentary questions to Yesilgöz and council questions to Utrecht mayor Sharon Dijksma, following reports in The Telegraph on Thursday. In a video quoted by the newspaper, recorded in Sydney at the end of October last year, Hoblos appeals not to condemn the Palestinians: “Never forget that the Palestinians are the oppressed and Israel the oppressor. These people are waging war for their homes and for their lives and we are with you, Palestine.” In this speech, Hoblos talks about the war between Hamas and Israel and seems to refer to October 7, the day of the bloody Hamas attack on Israel after which the war began. He said: “You guys [de Palestijnen] have filled our hearts with joy and pride!”
According to the Utrecht VVD and Christian Union, these and other statements by Hoblos, who The Telegraph cited, “directly against our democratic values and legal order” and were “reprehensible”, they said in a council question.
The municipality itself can only impose an area ban “in very exceptional cases” – for example if the arrival of a speaker could possibly lead to ‘acute disorder’ – Mayor Dijksma responded to council questions this week. A mayor has a limited range of instruments: a prior ban is only possible if there is a concrete and serious threat to public order. “That is not (yet) the case,” according to Dijksma.
Visitor Kaan suspects that the Dutch government does not want groups of Muslims to meet. According to him, there is “really no evidence” that Hoblos has done “anything bad”. He also thinks that a pro-Israel speaker should be allowed to come to the Netherlands. He finds the course of events frustrating and unfair, but he does not seem surprised. “People may think: I don’t trust it. But it’s just fun, brotherhood. We come in peace, not to do evil. You have yours truth and I have mine and we can just live together in this country without any problems.”
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Illness as a gift from Allah
Zakaria met Hoblos through a 2015 video that received six million views. Hoblos interviews one of his friends who is currently suffering from cancer. The friend sees this as “a gift from Allah”, changes his luxurious life and gives away his possessions. “He gave that boy a platform.” And Mohamed Hoblos was instantly famous himself.
According to Zakaria, Hoblos is a motivational speaker who “tells it like it is.” Many young people find it difficult to talk about alcohol and drug use or personal problems such as depression,” his friend adds. “He helps people come back to Islam and the spiritual.”
School friends Kadir Doganay (21), Leandro Monteiro (20) and Ahmed Car (20) from Antwerp also think so. “He is someone who was also on the wrong path, but you know what?” says Kadir Doganay. “Everyone deserves a second chance. He proves that people can change.” Doganay receives support from a friend. “Young people are now less respectful than before,” says Ahmed Car. “Not everyone of course, but that has been normalized. He appeals to people about this: always remain respectful, do good, be hopeful and most importantly; forgive others.” To find out more about Islam, Leandro Monteiro, himself a Christian and a seeker, came to the Jaarbeurs. “I want to delve into it.”
Zakaria also sees the Dawah Group event as a way to acquire knowledge. “I grew up with Islam. But when you’re 25, you start to wonder: what are you living for? It is precisely those frameworks, those rules of life, that ensure that you can be free. That’s how it works for me anyway.”
And as for banning Hoblos? Better to have a conversation than to ban, says Zakaria. The friends are now looking forward to the replacement speaker, Akhi Ayman. “He has also been through a lot, ended up in the criminal circuit and came out again. He is humble.”
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