What happened to the Dutch awakening?

VFR, July, 2007

How many articles have we read over the last few years telling us that, as a result of the murders of Pym Fortuyn and Theo van Vogh and the death threats against Geert Wilders and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the attitude of the Dutch toward their Muslim immigrant population had changed from acceptance and tolerance to alarm and wary-eyed skepticism--a change registered not only in public opinion but in official policy? Yet now the Dutch integration minister, Ella Vogelaar, tells a newspaper that Muslim immigrants must feel appreciated and that the Dutch have to help "Islam take root in the Netherlands." Has the spark of resistance been extinguished, and Netherlands placed back on the unobstructed path to Islamization? ...

Olivier writes from the Netherlands:

The first is that the Dutch people are still very much liberal. Many moan and complain about the ever increasing presence of Islam, yet uphold their liberal principles in a fatalistic manner: "I don't like it, but there is nothing we can do about it." While they loathe Islamic reality, many still believe in the possibility of a moderate, "European" Islam. These people are to be found in the entire political spectrum.

The second is that Geert Wilders, who represents the hard right in the present situation, is indeed a bit of a clown, with his bleached hair and blunt rhetoric. His main thrust is on Islam and immigration, which makes him look one-dimensional. These things do not add to the respectability of the right ...

At present, even as the attitude towards Islam is very negative, past and present multicultural reality, or what is perceived so, makes it hard for the average Dutchman to embrace a more traditional view on things. Add to that the temptations and riches of modernity, the firm grasp of progressive ideology, and we still have a long way to go.

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