Multiculturalism of Amsterdam put to test
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Mustafa Oğuz
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 12, 2008 00:00
AMSTERDAM - One of the most culturally diverse capitals of Europe, Amsterdam faces the challenge of integrating hundreds of thousands of people from a rural background into its highly individualistic population in the post 9/11 world.
The Netherlands’ capital, Amsterdam, has been a buzzing center of intellectual and commercial activity since the 17th century, a time its habitants still describe as its golden age. It was not only refugees, running away from religious persecution, such as Jews or Huguenots, or intellectuals such as Galileo Galilei who found refuge in its borders, but also skillful craftsmen and printers who earned the city an image of relative tolerance and open-mindedness. Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen, runner-up in the world mayoral awards in 2006, said the city had retained multiculturalism in its genes.
"Our archives show that in the 17th century, nearly half of marriages involved people arriving from outside the city. Multiculturalism is in the genes of the people living in Amsterdam. There are people from 174 nationalities living here," he told Turkish reporters at the headquarters of the Amsterdam municipality.
No matter how well the city handled the flock of people of Jewish, protestant and even atheist backgrounds, shortage of manual labor and the independence of former colonies was a challenge for the Dutch capital. From the 1960s, not only did hundreds of thousands of Indonesians and Surinamese arrive, but also Turks, Moroccans and Algerians came in massive numbers, as temporary guest workers. "This is a city of 740,000 inhabitants, of which at least 150,000 have a background from outside the Netherlands," Cohen said. "The city’s ’color’ is changing. People see that their butchers or bakers are run by people whose culture is different to theirs."
"As these groups were so big and because these people originally came from rural areas, arriving in a highly developed city such as Amsterdam created pressure," he said. People of Amsterdam did not pay particular attention to integration and multiculturalism, especially with Muslim masses, until an unfortunate coincidence of events cast doubt as to how well this city, proud of its inclusiveness, was really ready to accept difference.
"Uneasiness started after the Sept. 11 attacks and was exacerbated by a realization that there is an over-representation of criminality among Moroccan youth," Cohen said. But what really put the tolerance and cool-headedness of the city to test was the murder of Dutch director Theo van Gogh in November 2004, after his 10-minute movie "Submission" about the woman’s place in Islam led to massive anger among some Muslims.
Common reaction
"The murder caused anger in the city and for me as well. But most of the people had nothing to do with the person who did it," Cohen said.
On Rosengracht street, the story of what looks like an ordinary apartment building suggests the city’s face is changing. The building was a church that was turned into a mosque and is mainly frequented by Turks. "This building was constructed as a Catholic church in 1929. As its visitors dwindled in numbers, it closed down in 1971 and was used as a depot. In 1981, we, the Turkish community here, bought it and turned it into a mosque," said Mehmet, the guide of the Fatih Mosque, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "You cannot find a mosque near the center of a capital city in other European countries. Here we are in the very center of the city and we do not have any problems at all."
Despite the recent short film "Fitna," directed by Geert Wilders, a right wing politician who said the Dutch should be afraid of the growing numbers of mosques, and considered insulting to Muslims, the Turkish community said they were not provoked by "the nonsense in that movie." "Actually, the movie served a good purpose. People were more interested in what a mosque was like. We tell students of Dutch origin visiting our mosque about Islam and Muslim life. We are able to celebrate the Feast of Sacrifice as we will," Mehmet said.
"A common expression suggests that there is a kingdom of the Netherlands and a republic of Amsterdam. In this respect Amsterdam is not quite the same as the rest of the Netherlands. I believe this city is more open-minded and tolerant than the rest of the country," Cohen said.
"Our archives show that in the 17th century, nearly half of marriages involved people arriving from outside the city. Multiculturalism is in the genes of the people living in Amsterdam. There are people from 174 nationalities living here," he told Turkish reporters at the headquarters of the Amsterdam municipality.
No matter how well the city handled the flock of people of Jewish, protestant and even atheist backgrounds, shortage of manual labor and the independence of former colonies was a challenge for the Dutch capital. From the 1960s, not only did hundreds of thousands of Indonesians and Surinamese arrive, but also Turks, Moroccans and Algerians came in massive numbers, as temporary guest workers. "This is a city of 740,000 inhabitants, of which at least 150,000 have a background from outside the Netherlands," Cohen said. "The city’s ’color’ is changing. People see that their butchers or bakers are run by people whose culture is different to theirs."
"As these groups were so big and because these people originally came from rural areas, arriving in a highly developed city such as Amsterdam created pressure," he said. People of Amsterdam did not pay particular attention to integration and multiculturalism, especially with Muslim masses, until an unfortunate coincidence of events cast doubt as to how well this city, proud of its inclusiveness, was really ready to accept difference.
"Uneasiness started after the Sept. 11 attacks and was exacerbated by a realization that there is an over-representation of criminality among Moroccan youth," Cohen said. But what really put the tolerance and cool-headedness of the city to test was the murder of Dutch director Theo van Gogh in November 2004, after his 10-minute movie "Submission" about the woman’s place in Islam led to massive anger among some Muslims.
Common reaction
"The murder caused anger in the city and for me as well. But most of the people had nothing to do with the person who did it," Cohen said.
On Rosengracht street, the story of what looks like an ordinary apartment building suggests the city’s face is changing. The building was a church that was turned into a mosque and is mainly frequented by Turks. "This building was constructed as a Catholic church in 1929. As its visitors dwindled in numbers, it closed down in 1971 and was used as a depot. In 1981, we, the Turkish community here, bought it and turned it into a mosque," said Mehmet, the guide of the Fatih Mosque, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "You cannot find a mosque near the center of a capital city in other European countries. Here we are in the very center of the city and we do not have any problems at all."
Despite the recent short film "Fitna," directed by Geert Wilders, a right wing politician who said the Dutch should be afraid of the growing numbers of mosques, and considered insulting to Muslims, the Turkish community said they were not provoked by "the nonsense in that movie." "Actually, the movie served a good purpose. People were more interested in what a mosque was like. We tell students of Dutch origin visiting our mosque about Islam and Muslim life. We are able to celebrate the Feast of Sacrifice as we will," Mehmet said.
"A common expression suggests that there is a kingdom of the Netherlands and a republic of Amsterdam. In this respect Amsterdam is not quite the same as the rest of the Netherlands. I believe this city is more open-minded and tolerant than the rest of the country," Cohen said.