Who to trust? How to know?

After the death of Theo van Gogh, the integration of Muslims in the netherlands has been the prime topic of conversation for the Dutch people and their media. One thing has become clear about the murderer: He was born and raised in the Netherlands, was fully educated and integrated and had every opportunity at his disposal to lead a normal, happy and productive life.

Dozens, if not hundreds of interviews have been done with Muslims and their spiritual leaders in the 9 days since the murder. And without them realizing it, something has emerged from all this new information that should worry Dutch society more than anything else about this issue. More than foreign Muslims using Holland as a staging ground for acts of terror in Belgium and France. More than Dutch homes being used as storage facilities for explosives.

It has become clear that even Muslims who should be the best hope Holland has for integration, can turn into deadly murderers without appararent cause.

The fact that the Netherlands apparently offer a well-oiled infrastructure for terrorism and mayhem is secondary. The fact that Europe is essentially one large area without any real borders is secondary.

The thought that should frighten the average Dutch citizen is the fact that if third generation immigrants of Muslim descent, born, raised and educated in Holland, can turn just as deadly and extreme as Al-Zarqawi himself, then who from among the Muslim community can we trust? How can we know?

The group within which Mohammed Bouyeri (van Gogh's murderer) operated had been under surveillance by the Dutch secret service for some time. In fact, it's now become apparent that Bouyeri himself should by all accounts have been on the list of men warranting 'special attention'.

BUT A SECRET SERVICE EMPLOYEE OF MOROCCAN DESCENT WAS SUPPLYING THE TERROR CELL WITH EVERY BIT OF INFO THAT EXISTED ABOUT THEM.

Exactly what this person's role was (an interpretor, or an actual operative or analyst) is as yes unclear, but what is clear is that the man had full access to sensitive and confidential information, and that he had no doubt about where his loyalties lay: With his fellow Muslims, the terrorists.

Wether the man had purposely infiltrated the secret service to act a a mole, or had originally been of good faith (no pun intended) is still unknown. There can be no doubt however that this man felt no dilemma where his priorities were concerned.

This goes to the core of the issue. Since it became clear that the waves of immigrating Muslims would never return to their homelands, Holland (along with the rest of Europe) has been struggling to integrate, if not assimilate these new citizens.
We'd done it before. Our Indonesian allies in the war against Japan and later the colonial war against Sukarno became an integral part of Dutch society.
Inhabitants of our Surinam and Dutch Antilles colonies had more trouble integrating, but they did for the most part, and except for the color of their skin, they are virtually indistinguishable from 'native' Dutchmen.

So the Duch had some reason to expect no problems with the Muslim immigrants.

Wether the religion of Islam makes the crucial difference (as I think it does) or wether some other reason makes it all but impossible for Muslims to really become part of Dutch society is interesting for scientists and researchers, but it makes no practical difference. Islam forces its followers to choose between a Western-European life, or a Muslim one, or at least, that is the choice most Dutch Muslims see themselves faced with.

The wearing of veils has increased in the Netherlands, particularly among young women who were born here. Radicalization of Imams was becoming more and more apparent long before van Gogh was murdered. If there is a way for an increasing number of Muslims to really become part of Dutch society, this will only happen when Holland becomes a more Islamic society.

It's not even a matter of meeting each other half way (which is impossible). It is a matter of "My way, or the high way". For both 'sides' in this issue.

Muslims in the Netherlands form their own society and culture. In fact, Turks and Moroccans are separate from each other too, no mingling there either. There's no reason whatsoever to assume anything's going to change, and as the events after the murder of van Gogh make clear, polarization is bound to increase.

So it's high, high time the Dutch also made up their minds. The choice is one between preserving their free, open and democratic society, at the cost of being less politically correct and more politically direct. Or irrevocably plotting a course that starts with self-censorship, through ever-increasing Muslim influence, to an Islamic state, with the choice for native Dutch between converting, leaving, or becoming second-class citizens.

Islam will allow us no third option.