Three paintings depicting pigs have been pre-emptively removed from a hospital in Leerdam because they might offend Muslims.
One patient, not actually himself a Muslim, made a complaint about the paintings because he wanted to avoid Muslims having confrontations with the pigs. The leadership of the healthcare institution, the Linge Polyclinic, thereupon decided to remove the paintings immediately, Algemeen Dagblad newspaper reports.
The artist, Sylvia Bosch, is astounded. “One week earlier, I had an e-mail from the clinic saying that they were getting nice reactions. After a single complaint, they had to be taken away immediately.”
The Linge Polyclinic has stated that the pictures were removed because “all visitors must feel comfortable in the institution”.