Ms Verdonk based her comment on a 'code of conduct' for the social interaction between people of different cultural backgrounds, which was recently issued by authorities in the city of Rotterdam. The 'Rotterdam code' states that the inhabitants of the city should speak Dutch in public, raise their children for the most part in the Dutch language, reject radicalism and should not discriminate against women, homosexuals and non-believers.
Debates
The code originated from a series of debates on Islam that were held in Rotterdam in 2004 and 2005 with the aim of achieving a greater consensus over shared norms and values. The debates, in fact, were widely publicised as a great success. The Swiss-Egyptian Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan, who exerts great influence among young Muslims especially in France, said afterwards that similar discussions should take place in cities all over Europe.
The concluding debate in April 2005 was attended by more than a thousand participants from both immigrant and indigenous backgrounds. A number of propositions were voted upon to form the basis of a 'social charter' containing principles of good citizenship between Muslims and non-Muslims.
The proposals eventually agreed on called for the respectful dialogue as the basis for solving problems and the rejection of any form of discrimination, including discrimination against Muslims in the job market. The inhabitants of Rotterdam were also asked to get to know each other better: Rotterdam mosques should provide the city with more information about Islam; imams at Rotterdam mosques should be better informed about Dutch norms and values and the principles of constitutional democracy.
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Minister for Immigration and Integration Rita Verdonk |
After the final meeting, however, the planned social charter never came to light. The reason for this was that two parties on the Rotterdam city council, the liberal conservative VVD and Leefbaar Rotterdam - guardians of the legacy of the late Pim Fortuyn - rejected the propositions as too mild and politically correct. According to Ronald Sorensen of Leefbaar Rotterdam, the plans failed to explicitly address thorny issues such as forced marriages, honour killings, discrimination of homosexuals and anti-semitism. Whereas representatives of the Christian Democrat CDA party argued that living together was a "question of mutual adaptation" Ronald Sorensen stated that "the Dutch identity should be the starting point."
So what was announced last week was a code based on a compromise between the coalition partners in Rotterdam city council which reflects the criticism of VVD and Leefbaar Rotterdam.
'Seven Commandments'
The Rotterdam code, also dubbed the 'Seven Commandments of Rotterdam', reads like a lecture to Muslims. Quite unlike the conclusions of the Islam debate, it calls for immigrants to adapt themselves to Dutch norms and values.
The rejection of discrimination is repeated as a central demand, but the focus this time is on the equal treatment of women, homosexuals and non-believers rather than on the position of Muslims in the job market. The code also stresses the right of free partner choice and states that the inhabitants of Rotterdam will not tolerate insults and violence against women who do not choose to remain a virgin until they marry.
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Leefbaar Rotterdam called the code too politically correct |
All the media attention, however, was focused on the demand to speak Dutch on the streets. In fact, the Rotterdam code went largely unnoticed until minister Verdonk expressed her support for it and added that a similar demand to speak Dutch in public should be made on a national level. Immigrants were angry and media commentators conjured up visions of 'language police' arresting German tourists in the streets of Rotterdam for not speaking Dutch.
Both minister Verdonk and the authors of the Rotterdam code, however, stress that a legal obligation to speak Dutch in public is not the issue. The code merely wants to assert that speaking Dutch should be the prevailing social norm. Rotterdam councillor Leonard Geluk (CDA), one of the signatories to the Rotterdam code:
"If the Turkish cashier in a supermarket in Rotterdam North speaks Turkish with her clients and an indigenous Dutch stands by without being able to participate in the conversation, this is unpleasant. It would help if the cashier and those Turkish clients would be aware that in such a situation Dutch is the desired language."
Tags: Dutch, German tourists, immigration, intergration, Islam, Muslim, Netherlands, Pim Fortuyn, Rita Verdonk, Rotterdam code, Turkish, virgin