Pride comes before the fall?

Big Mosque

In Amsterdam-West, the Turkish Islamic movement of Milli Gorüs is building a monumental mosque. The mosque plans boast a 42 meter minaret. And a shopping centre. If finished it will enable thousands of worshippers to congegrate under one roof.

The mosque council has removed monuments commemorating Dutch resistance fighters and Jews who were killed during the second world war.

Perhaps pride comes before the fall.

Construction work on the mosque has been stopped this weekend. The director of Manderen BV, the patron and funder of the mosque has been replaced. This Üzeyir Kabaktepe, is also the chairman of the Westermosque community, a community of Amsterdam Muslims. In Manderen BV there are 2 Turkish youth movements, Milli Gorüs and Aya Sofia. Both Milli Gorüs and Aya Sofia are Turkish Islamic movement that stretch out from Central Asia to the USA. They ar global movements.

A very Turkish Coup

The seat of mr. Kabaktepe has been taken by Ucler Dag, chairman of mosque community Aya Sofia. He states that it is "unclear what the agreements is between Manderen BV, the building corporation "Het Oosten" and townhall."

However, the agreements between townhall, the building corporation and Manderen BV stipulate that the mosque will pursue a liberal policy and they are the result of 12 years of negotiations between the slithery Muslims, resistant Dutchmen from Amsterdam-West and equally slithery townhall bureaucrats and politicians.

Nailing down your negotiating partner

Manderen BV has been founded to create one Islamic parner in negotiations between Dutch organisations and bureaucracy. It has to enable the "nailing down" of a definite Muslim position (Dutch).

Building corporation "Het Oosten" will cease their co-operation if Aya Sofia takes control of Manderen BV. Director Bijdendijk of "Het Oosten" said that if the liberal position of Milli Gorüs is not pursued, the mosque will not be build.

There have for a long time been stories that hardline Turkish Muslims from Cologne in Germany are meddling in the Westermosque plans. These stories have now been confirmed, by the firing of mr. Kabaktepe and the apointment of the hardline candidate, mr. Dag.

Two weeks ago town hall official Arco Verburg reached agreement with Milli Gorüs. The covenant was the so-manieth agreement between the Amsterdam political-bureaucratic echelon and the Muslim movement. According to Mr. Bijdendijk the covenant was not liked by the German Turkish hardliners and the coup is and expression of their wish to gain control and carry on their plans, whatever those may be.

This will not be the last we will hear in the Westermosque saga.

UPDATE:
The liberal Chairman of Manderen BV Mr. Kabaktepe (Dutch)is suing Manderen BV for replacing him with a hardliner. Mr. Kabaktepe charges that his firing goes against the statute of Manderen BV and that the documents used to remove his name from the directors file at the Chamber of Commerce are forgeries.