Do Dutch People Agree with Geert Wilders Views to Ban the Quran?

Do Dutch People Agree with Geert Wilders View to Ban the Quran?

✍️ Author’s Note

This reflection began as an answer to a 2017 Quora question: “Do Dutch people agree with Geert Wilders that the Quran should be banned and all mosques in the Netherlands should be closed?” The question itself was both remarkable and disturbing — not for its complexity, but for what it revealed about the normalization of extremist proposals in political discourse.

My response then, as now, followed the same principle: in a constitutional democracy, the rule of law is not a matter of convenience but of foundation. Any call to ban a religious text or close places of worship is a direct assault on freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and equality before the law. Such views may be loud, but they have no legitimate place in a modern liberal society.

Geert Wilders, the longest-serving MP in the Dutch parliament, founded his extreme right-wing party, the “Party for Freedom,” in 2004. Wilders’ history of anti-European policies, marked by hatred, discrimination, and exclusion, is well-known. His extreme right demagoguery, along with his anti-Islam, anti-EU, and anti-court rhetoric, poses a significant threat to our liberal society.

Wilders exhibits an anti-parliamentarian stance, displaying disdain for institutions and attacking the independence of the courts. In 2016, he was convicted of inciting hatred for a speech calling for “fewer Moroccans” in the Netherlands. His platform has called for banning the Quran and closing Dutch mosques, labeling Islam as a totalitarian ideology.

Wilders’ discriminatory plans, particularly his “de-Islamization” measures, are not only dangerous but also violate fundamental human rights, including freedom of education, religion, speech, fair trial, and equality before the law. His views undermine institutions, freedom, and the rule of law.

Banning the Quran and closing Dutch mosques are actions that not only lack support but also violate the constitution. Freedom of religion is guaranteed in Article 1 of our constitution, and like in most societies, it is a basic right.

Geert Wilders’ intolerance, aversion to Islam, and xenophobic views are widely rejected and can only be viewed as repulsive, evoking memories of the 1930s, a dark period in our shared European history.

To elaborate, the Netherlands, with a GDP of $769 billion, is a wealthy and civilized country best described historically as a multicultural liberal society. The country has a population of 17.1 million, of which 68% is unaffiliated, 25% Christian, and 6% Muslim.

The Netherlands is known for its rational, multicultural, and liberal society, with a long history of diversity and tolerance. It has been a refuge for the persecuted, such as the Huguenots from France and Protestants from England, and a welcoming home for emigrants. It is also known for its stable, consensus-driven coalition governments that respect the constitution.

In my surroundings, Geert Wilders, and his preference for Judeo-Christian traditions combined with his intolerable Islamophobic and xenophobic views, have long been seen as an abnormality. Since his entry into Parliament, Wilders has ridden his populist, extreme-right wave, becoming a loud nuisance to be dismissed. He has become a caricature, with a mind steeped in nationalism, intolerance, and hatred of Muslims.

The intolerance of Wilders has no place in our modern-day society.

Netherlands, WJJH-19.3.2017

🎯 Proscript (2025)

Eight years later, the logic of 2017 remains unchanged, but the political climate has grown more troubling. Wilders’ nationalism, racism, and far-right rhetoric remain influential in Dutch politics — now amplified by his role in shaping government policy. While the constitutional protections he once attacked have so far held, his persistent assaults on the judiciary, his relentless targeting of Islam, and his manipulation of immigration fears have shifted the boundaries of what is politically acceptable.

The Netherlands still prides itself on tolerance and pluralism, but the space for these values is under sustained pressure. The challenge for our democracy is not simply rejecting Wilders’ proposals, but resisting the slow erosion of the principles that make such proposals unthinkable in the first place.

📌 Blog Excerpt

Geert Wilders built his career on noise, fear, and provocation — now he’s shaping Dutch policy. His calls to ban the Quran and close mosques still violate our constitution, yet they’ve crept into mainstream debate. The danger isn’t just his ideas, but the slow, steady erosion of the values that once made them unthinkable.