Salafist Muslims in Rotterdam have bought a 7,000 square metre former trade school and are turning into an educational institute, the NRC said on Friday. The sales agreement was signed by a Dutch Egyptian with links to controversial Muslim organisations in the Netherlands and was bought via a German property firm with money from the Middle East, the NRC reported.
While this is not illegal, it does go against government efforts to get a grip on the financing of Salafist organisations in the Netherlands, the NRC said. Neither the city council or locals were aware of the sale, the paper said. Parliament in December passed a motion calling on the cabinet to look into banning Salafist organisations because they are, according to the security services, a breeding ground for jihadism.
Salafism is an ultra-conservative movement within Sunni Islam, and a small proportion of its followers – known as jihadi Salafists – believe in violence. [DutchNews] Read more
