Another Labour (PvdA) politician has turned out to be supporting the radical Islamic group Hizb ut Tahrir. This time, it is Hatice Can-Engin, an alderman in the town of Gilze-Rijen.
Can-Engin, of Turkish origin, signed a petition of Hizb ut Tahrir against the insulting of Islam. Gilze-Rijen Mayor Rene Roep has confirmed that Can-Engin signed the online petition. The alderman herself had initially denied this. Whether her action will have consequences for her functioning as alderman is not yet clear.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned in Germany, aspires to worldwide Islamic dominance. Chairman Okay Pala recently said in newspaper De Telegraaf that the Netherlands "needs a bombing attack" and that he rejects democracy.
As alderman, Can-Engin is responsible for integration policy in Gilze-Rijen. Also, she was for years director of the Turks' Participation Body (IOT).
Last week, Bouchra Ismaili, a PvdA member of Rotterdam's Charlois district council was involved in scandal. First she e-mailed to a citizen that he should convert to Islam or otherwise shut up. Subsequently, it emerged that she had signed the Hizb ut Tahrir petition. Ismaili, too, lied about this, on which the PvdA asked her to resign. But she has so far refused to do so.
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