 The Netherlands' new entrance test for would-be immigrants has been condemned by some as Islamophobic and even detrimental to the economy.
| That's because you can always find somebody to be against something, even a good thing... |
The "civic integration" test - the first of its kind in the world and part of a broader policy on immigration - came into effect last month. It includes the compulsary viewing of a film with scenes featuring gay men kissing and a topless sunbathing woman.
| Not titties? Oh, horrors! Quick, Ethel! My pills! |
Critics say the film, which forms part of a study pack, is designed to discourage applicants from Muslim countries who may be offended by its content.
| I'd be a lot more offended by two fellows rubbing whiskers, but it wouldn't make me come down with the vapors. If I had a serious desire to become a Dutch citizen I'd somehow make myself suffer through it. |
Arzu Merali, spokeswoman for the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, says the move indicates that Muslims are not welcome.
| Only a certain segment of same, I'd guess. |
"Sadly the Dutch authorities are now openly exhibiting the type of Islamophobia that sends a very clear message to wider society. Muslims are not only unwelcome ... but those that are already there do not conform to a uniform idea of what should be a citizen."
| Maybe they should take the hint: At least some in Euroland swung over to the low end of the patience scale when Muslims started slaughtering them in the streets. I have no idea why, of course. |
But, Maud Bredero, spokeswoman for the Dutch Ministry of Justice for Integration Policy, denies such a notion. "No, certainly not this is, of course, not the case," she told Aljazeera.net. "Everyone is welcome."
| "But if you come in, you're gonna see the occasional honker and sometimes you'll see a pair of fellows sharing tongues. We're not planning on changing to please you, so maybe you should plan on changing to please us, since it's our country. If we go to Ratholistan, we'll keep our shirts on and our tongues in our mouths." |
Some 54% of all non-Western foreigners living in the Netherlands are Muslim, with 95% of them originating from Turkey, Africa, Latin America and Asia, according to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The controversial film has been made available at 138 Dutch embassies in the Middle East and Asia. Adding to concerns that the test is not friendly towards Muslims, is the fact those seeking entrance from other EU countries, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan do not have to take the test.
| Most of us have seen a bosom before, or know where we could see one... |
However, Rita Verdonk, the Dutch immigration minister, defends the initiative, saying it is aimed at instilling Dutch values. "It is important that you not be afraid to make clear demands of people - that they subscribe to our European values, that they respect our laws and learn the language," she told Reuters.
| "When we go to their countries there are enough restrictions put on us, fergawdsake." |
After viewing the 105-minute film, which is available in most languages, applicants are required to take an exam - costing $417 - on facts about the country such as the number of provinces that make up the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix's monarchical functions and the role played by William of Orange in the country's history. As part of the test, applicants, who need a basic command of the Dutch language, will also be tested on their knowledge of Dutch culture.
| Silly me, I'd think that'd be a pretty basic demand. I'm sure a Dutchy in Soddy Arabia would be expected to know something about Arabia before being allowed to live and work there. They'd be required to change religion if they were to stay, too. |
Karel Steenbrink, a Dutch theologian, describes the immigration minister's move as "strange".
| And some of us would call the Dutch theologian's objections "strange." |
"She is looking at the immigrant issue mostly from the aspect of security and how to, more or less, get the Netherlands to be a right-leaning country," Steenbrink, based at the Utrecht University in the Netherlands, told Aljazeera.net. "Verdonk does not see immigrants as people enriching our culture and country... That is why she ordered this film."
| Of course she doesn't. She sees them as people who slaughter Dutchies in the streets, and who've put out a fatwah on her own head. |
The professor questioned the inclusion of some of the graphic images in a general film on the Netherlands. "You can only see it (the topless bathing) a few weeks a year in the Netherlands because it is so cold here. And then only in restricted places. You seldom see it," he laughed.
| On the other hand, you can see a certain number of udds 12 months a year on a stroll through certain parts of Amsterdam, can't you? |
"Verdonk knows the reaction to the film would be one of fear, anger ... she works like that." Verdonk has also said that pending legislation in the Netherlands may introduce penalties for long-term foreign residents, some of them with Dutch nationality, who fail language or culture classes. Immigrants wanting to settle in the Netherlands to marry or form a relationship, will be required to take the test, according to the immigration ministry. Steenbrink said: "The whole package - the film, Dutch language courses, higher cost of a visa, etcetera - has already reduced the number of immigrants. Even asylum-seekers are affected." Immigrant numbers fell by 25% last year, Steenbrink said, quoting figures released by the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics. |