I am Charlie … Mayor Aboutaleb (R), chief-editor of Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad Christiaan Ruesink (L) and Frank Pauw (C) deputy chief constable of the police in Rotterdam observe a minute of silence. Source: AFP
THE Muslim mayor of Rotterdam in the Netherlands says anyone who does not appreciate the freedom of life in Western civilisations can “pack their bags” and “f … off”.
Ahmed Aboutaleb, 53, arrived in the Netherlands from his home country of Morocco as a teenager has become known as a straight-talking, no-nonsense proponent of integration.
On live Dutch television hours after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris last week, he had a curt message for those who defy freedom.
“It is incomprehensible that you can turn against freedom,” Mayor Aboutaleb said.
“But if you don’t like freedom, for heaven’s sake pack your bags and leave.
“If you do not like it here because some humorists you don’t like are making a newspaper, may I then say you can f … off.”
He said well-meaning Muslims would be ostracised now because of the actions of a minority who couldn’t find their place.
“This is stupid, this so incomprehensible. Vanish from the Netherlands if you cannot find your place here. All those well-meaning Muslims here will now be stared at.”
Rotterdam is the second biggest Dutch city, with a population of 610,000. Mr Aboutaleb, a Labour politician and former journalist, assumed the office of mayor in January 2009.
He is the first mayor of a large city in the Netherlands who is an immigrant or a Muslim.
His comments won praise from his counterpart in London, Boris Johnson, who said Mr Aboutaleb was the voice of “Enlightenment”.
“If we are going to win the struggle for the minds of these young people, then that is the kind of voice we need to hear — and it needs above all to be a Muslim voice,” Mr Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
source:news.com.au
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 