The nation also has equal rights for all embedded in its constitution: “Everyone shall have the right to profess freely his religion or belief, either individually or in community with others, without prejudice to his responsibility under the law.”
But to some, those words are just lip service. Holland has not been immune to the same alarming spikes in antisemitism and Islamophobia that have plagued other nations in recent years. As a result, hundreds of anti-Muslim and antisemitic incidents involving violence, threats, vandalism, harassment, discrimination and hate speech have shaken the Netherlands.
A kosher restaurant in Amsterdam was vandalized eight times. Soccer matches became platforms for antisemitic chanting. Dutch police reported hundreds of incidents of religious discrimination targeting Muslims. Anti-Muslim hate speech spiked online, along with physical and verbal abuse of Muslim women wearing religious head coverings.
In considering the Church’s application, the Dutch government had plenty of public benefit to consider—a half century’s worth.
To combat the wave of anti-religious hate, the Dutch government enacted tighter laws protecting the religious freedom guaranteed by its constitution. April 2021 saw the appointment of Holland’s first National Coordinator for Countering Antisemitism as well as the enforcement of a law making it a crime to incite religious hatred. Meanwhile, local and national security officials began to work with Jewish and Muslim communities to increase security at houses of worship.
Against this backdrop of Holland’s vigorous response to a darkening religious freedom landscape, on August 30, 2022, the government granted the Church of Scientology full public benefit status, recognizing its religiosity and its dedication to serving others.
In considering the Church’s application, the Dutch government had plenty of public benefit to consider—a half century’s worth.
For Scientology hit the ground running in the Netherlands. With effective drug education programs, campaigns to promote morality and its work to uplift and unite communities, Amsterdam’s Church of Scientology grew and grew over the ensuing decades, making its voice heard and its impact felt throughout the nation.
As Maarten Lubbers, chairman of Together One Amsterdam, put it, the Church is a place where “everyone will be met with compassion and be greeted with open arms—because this is a center that is genuinely dedicated to inspiring and uplifting our Dutch society.”
Eighty years ago, in a far different Holland in a far darker time, a young girl hid from the Nazis. It was here that she dreamed of a world where no one fears to think or believe a certain way and where everyone is free to practice and live their faith, no matter what that faith is. And it is here in Holland, today, that Anne Frank’s dream is coming true, as human rights and religious freedom secure a beachhead against the hate and bigotry that drove her and so many others into hiding just a lifetime ago.
Anne was speaking to all of us when she wrote: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
