There are around 850,000 Muslims in the Netherlands (approximately 5% of the total population).

There are a great many strands of Islam within the Dutch Muslim community. As well as Sunnis, there are Shi’ites, Alevis and Ahmadis, not to mention a number of Sufi orders. All have the right to practise their religion freely.

The Netherlands is a democracy, where everyone has the right to freedom of religion, association and expression, and where everyone is equal, regardless of their political convictions or religion.

Freedom of religion means the right of every Muslim in the Netherlands to profess his or her own beliefs, to build mosques and to establish religious organisations.

The Dutch political system is based on the separation of church and state. Churches, mosques and other religious organisations operate independently and without government intervention.

All Muslims have the same civil, social and political rights as other Dutch residents. The Dutch Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief.

The Dutch Constitution guarantees the right of Christian and Muslim schools to be fully financed from public funds.

Muslims play an active part in Dutch politics: the Muslim Democrat (Islam-Democraten) party, for example, has a seat on The Hague’s municipal council, and two members of the Dutch government were born in muslim countries.