Press Release
Commenting on the Cologne Events: What's going on exactly?
(Translated)

The story of sexual harassment of the German women on New Year's Eve is ongoing, it has been exploited politically and by the media, and this was to be expected. As for politicians in Europe this incident came as a gift sent to them from heaven, nearly a thousand Muslim refugees were directly charged, they were described having North African features. The Deputy Dutch Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher, famous for stirring public opinion, commented on this incident and said: "Those who carried out this action are from North Africa, and they should be legally prosecuted and then punished severely." It is known that his statement is not different from MP's remarks in the Dutch parliament, Geert Wilders, known for his hostile stances to Islam, which are not intended except to inflame public opinion and present a distorted image of Islam and Muslims to the people. What the refugees did, according to these politicians, confirms this fact. And this is how the politicians in Europe began the New Year, which is suggesting that the current year will be difficult for Muslims more than the past year.

The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte has spoken about the incident of harassment and issued a warning to refugees, saying: "He who comes to this country has to adjust according to our ideals and our values; and these ideals and values will remain unchanged and we will not compromise on them." Although the charge is not proven on the refugees yet, Rutte is working to create fear which already is felt by many of the Dutch people. However, the facts began to emerge bit by bit, it appears that the number of those who carried out the harassment are not a thousand of Muslims as promoted by the media and politicians, but are nine Algerians and eight Moroccans, five Iranians, four Syrians, an Iraqi and a Serb, an American and two Germans, and the number of refugees within the aggressors is eighteen refugees only, and as long as their identities were identified, then they should have been brought to justice for what they have committed and tried, and not to accuse them because they came from a particular country or because they follow a certain religion!

When Rutte speaks about values in the Netherlands, that they are not subject to compromises and middle solutions, it gives the impression that the refugees will work to change these values, and that they pose a threat to Dutch society, and this is a false assumption, and by this he is charging the people and inciting them against these refugees. The refugees left their home and left everything behind and came to this country and the others in search of a better life, that they might find the security and safety in, and they do not speak the language of the country, how will they be working to change the values and ideals of this country?!

Rutte claims that these refugees have certain values, namely the values of Islam, and these are the values that allow them to carry out inappropriate behavior, he is therefore accusing Islam publicly that it is the cause of these events. While everyone knows and acknowledges that the Shariah law concerning the relationship of men and women forbids such wrong behavior, and the Shariah has limited the satisfaction of sexual orientation to marriage and what the right hand possesses only. And if those who have carried out the harassment on women were committed to the laws of Islam, they would have not been present in that place that night, in the first place, this is on top of the prohibition of alcohol in Islam and even further the Islamic law that determines the way to act with women.

In the past few days several publications and many television programs were about this incident. The so-called experts did not stick to discussing only the incident of harassment, but diverted the discussion to speak about Islam and its dangers; and in their discussion they speak about the emergence of a revolution in Europe against Islamization, because they claim that the nature of the laws of Islam, which views a woman as a worthless thing, is the reason behind such an incident, until these ideas have become the most common among people. In the coming days we will hear of slogans like "protection of blonde women" more and more.

The call for the protection of women should be for women in general, regardless of their origin and their religion, and not for blondes only. All women should feel that their lives are safe, but the considering of some that Islam is the source and cause of the oppression of women, this is bias against Islam and an attempt to show Islam as an evil religion and oppressive, and on top of this and that it is a wrong consideration. If we want to talk seriously about the oppression of women and persecution, we must first point out the main reasons behind the injustice which women face in Western societies, where Western values prevails and the Liberal Democratic system.

In a European study entitled: “Violence against Women”, a European study published in March, 2014 carried out by the European Agency of Fundamental Rights, shows that about 13 million women in Europe have experienced physical violence during the 12 months prior to the preparation of this study, and nearly 3.7 million women have been subjected to sexual violence prior to the preparation of this study, also it shows that 1 in every 20 women in Europe had been raped, and more than 55% were victims of sexual harassment!!

These alarming figures show that the main problem cannot be hidden or ignored. Thus the values of Western liberalism that control Western societies and are completely defended by politicians, is the main problem.

The increase of sexual abuse and oppression of women is affected to a large extent by the way men deal with women, and this is the starting point of any discussion about women instead of referring the oppression of women to the refugees, as politicians do in this country, which is fueling the feelings of fear in the community.

On this basis, it can be said that people are victims of Western ideas and values, and that the deceiving politicians are but lying to them and making others as scapegoats. So how credible are those who are calling for Muslims to accept Western values that are the cause of the suffering of women and leave the Islamic values that protect women and preserve their dignity and chastity?!

Okay Pala
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir
in The Netherlands