DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl brings daily news from The Netherlands in English

4 June 2025
Newsletter Donate Advertise
  • News
  • Life in the Netherlands
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
  • Search
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Art and culture
  • Sport
  • Europe
  • Society
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Housing
  • Education
  • News
    • Home
    • Economy
    • Art and culture
    • Sport
    • Europe
    • Society
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Education
  • Life in the Netherlands
    • Latest
    • Opinion
    • Books
    • Travel
    • 10 Questions
    • Learning Dutch
    • Inburgering with DN
    • Food & Drink
    • Ask us anything
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
    • Team
    • Donate
    • Advertise
    • Writing for Dutch News
    • Contact us
    • Privacy
    • Newsletter
  • Search

Every message, no matter how poisonous, has the right to be heard: Rotterdam mayor

June 11, 2018
Photo: Wouter Engler via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Wouter Engler via Wikimedia Commons

Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has commented on the decision by anti-Islam campaign group Pegida to call off a protest outside a mosque in the port city, saying every message has the right to be heard.

‘Every message, no matter how poisonous the message is, should have the right to be expressed,’ Aboutaleb is reported as saying in a speech at an Iftar meal on Sunday. Iftar is the meal which Muslims eat to break their ramadan fast.

Pegida had planned to hold ‘pork barbecues’ outside several mosques across the country but the demonstrations were banned in Utrecht, The Hague, Arnhem and Gouda.

Aboutaleb had given the green light to the protest but a bus carrying about 20 Pegida supporters turned back after hearing that several hundred people had gathered for a counter-demonstration.

Muslim mayor of Rotterdam Aboutaleb allows Pegida pig-meat bbq in front of mosque. Pegida chickens out. #Courage #FreeSpeech #Respect #Tolerancehttps://t.co/MPXlrDAz3e

— Marc Bracke (@MarcBracke) June 8, 2018

The Rotterdam mayor also spoke about how he had been put under religious and moral pressure to ban the demo. ‘It went so far that the Turkish minister of foreign affairs tried to teach me a lesson about my Islamic identity,’ he said.

‘It is going too far if a foreign state, which is a long way away, tries to teach the mayor of Rotterdam about Dutch law and how I should apply it.’

The fact that the Pegida message was not heard, is a sign of intolerance, not winning, he said.

Earlier, locals had surrounded the mosque where the protest was due to take place with a wall of flowers.

❤ Dutch (non-Muslims) show love to Mosque: A wall of flowers was set up in front of the entrance of Laleli mosque in #Rotterdam & surrounded by words of peace as a response to the BBQ event that far-right group Pegida wanted to hold in front of mosque. pic.twitter.com/PWjJe78gLm

— Boutaïna Azzabi Ezzaouia (@Boutaina) June 9, 2018

Share this article
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Copy URL
Society
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation
Latest
Show more
Dutch government to carry on with asylum plans despite PVV exit
Electoral council picks October 29 for Dutch general election
Court scraps Schiphol's 2023 environmental licence
Ukraine's Zelensky to come to Nato summit in The Hague
Blow for music store as thieves steal trumpets worth €150,000
NewsHomeEconomyArt and cultureSportEuropeSocietyEnvironmentHealthHousingEducation
Life in the NetherlandsLatestOpinionBooksTravel10 QuestionsLearning DutchInburgering with DNFood & DrinkAsk us anything
About usTeamDonateAdvertiseWriting for Dutch NewsContact usPrivacyNewsletter
© 2025 DutchNews | Cookie settings

Help us to keep providing you information about coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days!

We could not provide this service without you. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here.

The DutchNews.nl team

Donate now

Dutchnews Survey

Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey.

Take part now