• Dutch authorities barred three Islamic speakers ‘Mohammed Hijab, Abu Bakr Zoud, and Ali Hammuda’ from entering the Netherlands ahead of an event in Utrecht.
• The speakers are internationally renowned.
Dutch authorities have barred three renowned Islamic speakers from entering the country ahead of an event in Utrecht this weekend— Mohammed Hijab, Abu Bakr Zoud and Ali Hammuda.
Ministers of Justice and Security, David van Weel, and Asylum and Migration, Marjolein Faber, announced the decision, claiming that the three had “past “reprehensible comments” about “women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and the trivialisation of relations with minors”. They also said that one of the speakers denied Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Last week, in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed that he had authorised the Hannibal Directive on October 7, 2023.
Here, we see Mohammed Hijab’s response on X to Paul Golding, the British far-right political activist and leader of the nationalist, anti-Islam group Britain First, addressing some of the comments Golding has previously made.
“These comments can contribute to a climate of hate, hostility, and glorification of violence,” the ministers said, deeming their presence at the Jaarbeurs venue “unwanted.” The decision follows a request from the Tweede Kamer, the Dutch parliament’s lower house, urging the government to deny them entry. “There may be some friction here, but it must be within the democratic values that we have agreed upon. There is absolutely no place in the Netherlands for sowing hatred and condoning violence and terrorism,” they said.
Utrecht Mayor Sharon Dijksma also opposed the speakers’ participation, calling it “highly undesirable.” However, she noted that she could only intervene if their presence posed a risk of public disorder, which was not the case.
Mohammed Hijab responded to the events of today with the following on his X account:
Mohammed Hijab recently addressed the treatment towards other duat (Islamic speakers) on his YouTube channel, asserting that the barring of entry into European and Western countries is unlikely to be a coincidence, especially given the changes that have occurred since Trump’s election.
Mohammed Hijab is an UK-based Oxford graduate, co-founder of the Sapience Institute, author, and prominent YouTuber. He commands a substantial following of 1.29 million subscribers. Renowned for his expertise in cross-religious debates, he is regularly invited to speak at major international conferences. Most recently, he appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored to debate the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Abu Bakr Zoud is a graduate of the Islamic University of Medina and hails from Australia.
Sheikh Ali Hammuda is a UK-based Islamic scholar of Palestinian descent. He gained bachelors and masters’ degrees in Architecture & Planning from the University of the West of England, before achieving a BA in Shari’ah from al-Azhar University in Egypt. He is also an author:
The Netherlands’ entry ban on the three renowned speakers has shocked many within the Muslim community.
Both Zoud and Hammuda are yet to publicly address the deliberation and decision in the Netherlands.
