Van Gogh’s murder sharply reversed Dutch public opinion against Muslim immigration

Evidence

First, multiculturalism suffered a huge setback with the murder. Pim Fortuyn may have paved the way for questioning multiculturalist policies, but, after Van Gogh’s murder, many in the Netherlands and throughout Europe felt that multiculturalism and tolerance of diversity had gone too far. Polls taken in the Netherlands within a year after the murder reflected the turning tide, with 40 percent of Dutch citizens expressing the hope that Muslim immigrants “no longer feel at home in the Netherlands,” and more than 80 percent desiring greater restrictions on immigration. Another poll indicated that 51 percent of so-called native Dutch held unfavorable views of Muslims. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 384

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader arc of Western Islamophobia traced across the book, and to the Dutch/European multiculturalism debate that recurs in previous chapters. — connects to: Freedom of expression framing dominated the Dutch response to Van Gogh’s murder — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 385; Van Gogh’s murder reinforced the stereotype of Islam’s inherently violent nature — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 387; A radical Muslim murdered a Dutch filmmaker and threatened his secularist collaborator — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 382 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• A radical Muslim murdered a Dutch filmmaker and threatened his secularist collaborator #expands (0.80) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 382
• Van Gogh’s murder reinforced the stereotype of Islam’s inherently violent nature #expands (0.75) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 387
• Freedom of expression framing dominated the Dutch response to Van Gogh’s murder #qualifies (0.70) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 385
• Perceived Muslim rejection of secularism eroded European faith in multiculturalism #expands (0.65) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 359
• European hostility toward Muslims exceeds even hostility toward other immigrants #complicates (0.40) — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 37