Excerpt:
Turkish Muslims in the Netherlands will continue to freely practice their religion, the Dutch government has assured Turkey, adding that controversial politician Geert Wilders' understanding of Islam was not shared by the country's governing coalition.
"The freedom of religion is one of the ingrained constitutional rights for people in the Netherlands and a cornerstone of the Netherlands. People who believe in Islam are entitled to go to the mosque. The only point that they have to take into account is that they should not go beyond the rule of law and the constitutional duties going with that," Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal told a small group of Turkish journalists Tuesday.
The coalition government composed of the Christian Democrat Party, or CDA, and the Liberal Party, or LP, is receiving backing from Wilders' far right Freedom Party for votes of confidence. Wilders' rising influence has caused concerns that his anti-immigrant and anti-Islam views could disturb the nearly 400,000-strong Turkish community in the country.