arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Saturday 8 marsh 2003 Amsterdam- After one week of lectures and public meetings all through the Netherlands the Dutch branch of the AEL is on and going.

Last Sunday the Arab European League held a pressconference in which it presented its four interim administrators, Jamil Jawad, Abdelrahim Ashamrouk, Naima Almaslouhi and Nabil Marmouch. The positions and views of AEL-Netherlands are outlined in a draft political program that will be presented to a congress at the end of May where a board and a president of the Dutch branch of the organisation will be elected.

During the week of lectures held by Dyab Abou Jahjah the interest within the community was very high and the enthusiasm was total. Also membership is booming, we started the week with 250 registered members and ended it with 550 members and new members are still flowing by dozens. Abou Jahjah told our correspondent tonight that he believes the Dutch branches will be one of the strongest branches of the AEL. He added that even though our community in Holland has a better socio-economical situation than in Belgium , the anti-Muslim attitudes in the Netherlands are more aggressive and outspoken.

"It is not all about the money, a human being can't live without respect" he added.

The AEL pleaded through the week for substituting the concepts of Integration and assimilation with that of citizenship and diversity. He argued that Europe has no choice but to harmonise its society through recognizing Muslims collectively and individually as citizens.

The AEL also reopened the discussion on the one state solution for the Middle East conflict as the only just solution. "The state of Israel is a state with institutional racism; it is a colonial racist state in the 21sr century and therefore has no legitimacy and will never have that…. One democratic State Palestine is the only solutions that can guarantee a just peace and a lasting peace''. The Zionist lobby in Holland reacted by a campaign against the AEL and its president claiming that being against Zionism implies being anti-Semitic. Abou Jahjah rejected the allegations as being ridiculous and unfounded, "every democrat should be anti-Zionist because Zionism is a clear form of racism, and it has nothing to do with being a Jew, many Zionists are not Jews and some Jews are not Zionists". On Friday the Dutch police informed the AEL that an attack by military weapons will be committed against Mr. Abou Jahjah while he is on his way to Amsterdam to give a lecture at the University of Amsterdam . The Dutch police escorted the AEL president with heavy security in an armoured vehicle during the whole day. According to police sources the threats are to be taken seriously and they are originating from a group and not an individual. Abou Jahjah seemed unaffected by the whole thing and was very relaxed while giving his two strongest performances of the whole week at the University of Amsterdam and at the Balie later in the evening.

Despite the threats Abou Jahjah continued his tour today and visited the neighbourhood of Amsterdam-West were a very strong AEL base is present. He talked to Moroccan and Turkish youth and to AEL members and sympathizers. The Arab European League in the Netherlands is now ready to take off forming a very assertive fresh voice in Dutch politics defending Arabs and Muslims.