Netherlands poised to cancel status of Islamic university over rector’s discriminatory remarks


Date posted: September 17, 2016

Dutch Education Minister Jet Bussemaker announced that there is a parliamentary debate over the Islamic University of Rotterdam for cancellation of the “university status” of the institution due to Rector Ahmet Akgündüz’s repeatedly hateful and discriminatory remarks against Turkey’s minorities and the Gülen movement.

According to the amendment that Bussemaker is working on, the government will intervene if an educational institution does not perform its task of “promoting social responsibility.”

The Islamic University of Rotterdam announced earlier this week that it will no longer cooperate with education ministry watchdog NAVO’s investigation into the quality of the institution. NAVO launched another investigation into the institution because of Akgündüz’s remarks.

Bussemaker criticized Akgündüz’s remarks, saying the actions of the rector are in conflict with Dutch values and norms. “A rector does have a lot of academic freedom as figurehead of an institution, but it goes with great responsibility,” she said.

Source: Turkish Minute , September 18, 2016

Tags: | | | |


Related News

The hype about the Gülen Movement

Mustafa AKYOL Recently, there was a long New York Times story about the matter, which quoted a Turkish journalist who believed that Gülen followers “have proliferated within the police and the judiciary, working behind the scenes to become one of Turkey’s most powerful political forces.” So, as another Turkish journalist, let me also tell you […]

Inability to generate values

Many are quick to note that Turkey does not have a worldwide brand. It is true that this country, with a population of about 70 million, has virtually no world-class brand. Some people are trying to destroy the few brands it does have (such as Turkish schools — which are run by Turkish entrepreneurs inspired by the ideas of well-respected Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen).

Turkish schools in Austria select finalists for Int’l Turkish Olympiads

Qualifications for Austria’s International Turkish Olympiads took place in a festive atmosphere on Saturday evening with a magnificent event in Vienna, with the attendance of hundreds of both Turkish and Austrian citizens.

Gülen conference in London

HÜSEYİN GÜLERCE Though the national agenda is stuck in debates over terrorism and a cross-border operation, I’d like to open a parenthesis and touch upon a historic conference held last week in London. Forty-nine scholars from various universities around the world addressed an audience during this three-day international academic conference, which kicked off at the […]

EU stresses right to freedom of expression in wake of media investigations [in Turkey]

The European Union has underlined that public authorities should not interfere with freedom of expression in the media, against the background of Turkish government pressure on the media through criminal and civil lawsuits. “The right to freedom of expression includes the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas without the interference of public authorities,” Peter Stano, spokesperson for EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle, said to the Cihan news agency.

Caretaker AK Party gov’t criticized for police operation against youth association

The Yağmur Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Association, which was founded in 2013 by Ahmet Turhan, the Balıkesir governor of the time, has been giving Quran lessons to 60 children during Ramadan.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Fil-Turkish gives out beef amid terror threats

Gulen Movement’s Global Appeal: Reflections from Chicago

Kimse Yok Mu gives away Eid al-Adha meat in Mali

Enes Kanter: “I’m getting death threats almost every day”

Arresting police to make Erdoğan happy

Lamb-hunt in the Netherlands

Erdoğan now targets foreign countries for granting asylum to critics

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News