Wilders tells Dutch parliament refugee crisis is ‘Islamic invasion’

THE HAGUE – Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders called the wave of refugees pushing into Europe an “Islamic invasion,” during a parliamentary debate on Thursday that exposed deep divisions over how the Netherlands should respond to the crisis.

 

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday appealed to EU members to share out refugees arriving on the bloc’s fringes. Several EU countries oppose the idea of mandatory quotas, as supported by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the conservative Dutch government says it is only willing to take in more if all EU states agree.

 

At the start of the debate, Wilders called the wave of refugees passing through Hungary and other countries “an Islamic invasion of Europe, of the Netherlands.”

 

“Masses of young men in their twenties with beards singing Allahu Akbar across Europe. It’s an invasion that threatens our prosperity, our security, our culture and identity,” he said.

 

Tens of thousands of people, many fleeing war and Islamic State in Syria, are trying to get to Germany where Merkel has said they will be allowed to stay. Wilders said the fact that they were pushing northwards through the EU from the Mediterranean indicated many were economic migrants, not refugees.

 

Read More: Wilders tells Dutch parliament refugee crisis is ‘Islamic invasion’ – Middle East – Jerusalem Post