The two Muslim broadcasters subsidised by the Dutch government have spent hundreds of thousands of euros of that money on legal battles against each other. This emerges from annual accounts obtained by Trouw newspaper.
Every big religious movement receives a subsidy in the Netherlands for its own public broadcaster. Islam however has two broadcasters because Muslim groups have been unable to agree among themselves on a single umbrella broadcaster.
The Foundation for the Care of Islamic Broadcasting Time (SVIZ) was set up in 2007 to keep the two Muslim broadcasters - Netherlands Muslim Broadcasting (NMO) and the Netherlands Islamic Broadcaster (NIO) - in dialogue. But due to internal fights, SVIZ now also threatens to fall apart.
Four of the nine SVIZ management board members have lost confidence in chairman Mohamed Sini. The board members accuse him of not being independent. Court cases to oust Sini have already cost the Muslim broadcasters nearly 200,000 euros in one and a half year’s time, according to Trouw.
Additionally, there is another legal question at play; NMO is refusing to give SVIZ access to its accounts. In this dispute as well, subsidies have been used to pay lawyers.
In March, the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD-ECD) raided NMO. It is investigating it on the basis of a report by the Media Commissariat against former NMO director Frank William. The investigation is according to a spokesman focused on forgery, misappropriation and swindling.
Last week, it already emerged that the business director of SVIZ, Maurice Koopman, receives 1,500 euros per week for one and a half working days. His job consists of dividing up the subsidies between the two Muslim broadcasters. Koopman said he does not feel overpaid. “Have you ever worked with Muslims?”