Excerpt:
Integration should not be confused with assimilation, the Netherlands' European affairs minister said. "You can ask people to change their attitude according to social requirements, but you cannot ask them to change who they are," Frans Timmermans said Wednesday, speaking with press at a roundtable meeting in Ankara.
Turks and Moroccans constitute substantial minorities in the Netherlands, where Islamophobia has increased and, as a result, a radical parliamentarian suggested in September extra taxes for those wearing a headscarf. Geert Wilders, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, proposed that any Muslim woman who wants to wear a headscarf, which he described as a "head rag," would have to apply for a license and pay 1,000 euros.
"After Sept. 11, all of a sudden, Turks, Moroccans and Somalis all became Muslims. Islam is perceived as a threat to their liberty," Timmermans said.