Netherlands: Dutch language gaining ground in mosques

Netherlands: Dutch language gaining ground in mosques

Via RNW:
Dutch mosques are beginning to phase out Arabic-only sermons. Research at Utrecht University has shown that Surinamese Muslims are leading in this respect.

Researcher Nico Landman told the ANP agency that such a development is logical, seeing that Dutch is the language that the Surinamese commonly speak in the Netherlands. There are approximately 20 Surinamese mosques in the Netherlands.

In the Moroccan-Dutch community preaching in Dutch is growing, according to Amsterdam imam Yassin Elforkani. He pointed to the Ulu mosque in Utrecht and the Blue mosque in Amsterdam as two prominent examples. The rise of Dutch can be explained by the desire to reach young Dutch Muslims, most of whom do not speak Arabic, Elforkani said. Dutch-Moroccan youths also prefer Dutch when communicating on Facebook and other social media.

(source)