In October 2021, NRC revealed that at least 10 Dutch municipalities had ordered covert investigations into mosques and Islamic organisations in their cities. With money provided by the NCTV, they hired a private research agency, NTA, whose staff observed mosques without making themselves known.
The findings ended up in a secret report (‘the NTA report’), which stated, for example, what the mosque administrators, imams and teachers involved studied, who is related to whom, with whom they quarrel, and what their religious doctrine would be.
The secret investigations had a huge impact on the mosques under investigation and their communities. They all had good contacts with municipalities and officials in their cities. While the mosques thought they had a trusted partner in the municipality, they were found to have been viewed with distrust. Therefore, the secret investigation cannot be separated from the growing Islamophobia and the stigmatisation and criminalisation of Muslims in Dutch society.
The publications in NRC led to much controversy about the NTA investigations. Several municipalities have apologised towards the local Muslim community. Other municipalities, on the other hand, are holding off and claim that nothing unlawful took place.
Restoring trust starts with transparency. The mosques therefore argue that they have the right to see what has been written down by NTA about them and their community.
What does PILP do?
PILP is assisting mosques in several municipalities with proceedings to obtain access to the report written about them. The mosques believe that several fundamental rights have been violated. They consider the study discriminatory and claim that their privacy and freedom of religion have been unjustifiably infringed.
