Muslim Moroccan Becomes Mayor of Rotterdam

Oct 18, 2008

Ahmed Aboutaleb... migrated to the Netherlands at the age of 14. He is the first mayor to be born and raised outside the Netherlands. He is also the first Muslim to become a mayor in the Netherlands. Some 45 percent of the 582,000 citizens of Rotterdam are of foreign origin.

Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party, which opposes Islam, criticized the appointment of Aboutaleb. Two years ago, when Aboutaleb became a member of the Dutch government, Wilders demanded that Aboutaleb renounce his Moroccan citizenship.

“Appointing a Moroccan as mayor of the second largest Dutch city is just as ridiculous as appointing a Dutchman as mayor of Mecca,” Wilders says, adding that Aboutaleb “should become mayor of Rabat in Morocco.” Wilders insists that Aboutaleb shows where his loyalty lies by renouncing his Moroccan citizenship.