Turmoil in the Netherlands

Things are escalating further in the Netherlands, following the brutal murder on film maker Theo van Gogh last week (see earlier postings here and here). There have been attacks on mosques, islamic schools and even church buildings. In The Hague a whole neighborhood was closed down today as part of a special force raid to arrest members of a terrorist cell (my friend Ronald who lives right in this neighborhood reports about it on his weblog).



In the meantime there are political tensions because a Moroccan guy who works for the secret service leaked information to terrorist groups. Tomorrow there will be a heavy debate in Parliament on the issue, which will put further pressure on the Minister of the Interior. Our PM asked the population to remain calm and refrain from polarising talk and actions.

It's a situation that's very similar to the period following the murder of politician Pim Fortuyn in 2002. It was right before our national prayer campaign 10 Days for Holland. It's part of the shaking our nation is going through, therefore we need stay spiritually alert and pray for God's purposes to be fulfilled.