Netherlands: Police agents can take Muslim oath

Police agents of the Central Holland police corps have the possibility to take a Muslim oath, which the SGP (Political Reformed Party) thinks is extraordinarily bad.
 
For a long time the police agents had two possibilities: the oath ('so help me God') or the promise ('thos I state and promise').  For a number of years agents and workers of the Central Holland department can also declare a Muslim variant: "in the name of Allah, the merciful, and he is my witness that I promise this."  They swear this putting their right hand on the Koran.

SGP parliament member Van der Staaij is "very surprised".  He didn't know that it was already an existing practice.  Minister Ter Horst of Internal Affairs must stop it, he says.

Van der Staaij sent written questions to the minister.  He pointed out to her a decision by the Dutch Council of State, the highest governmental advisory body, from 2002.   The Council at the time decided, regarding an oath of a regional politician in South Holland, that alternative oaths were not permissible.  The SGP member thinks that this should also apply to police agents.

A spokesperson of the Central Holland police corps is surprised about the SGP questions saying that for years the police agents and department workers can take a Muslim variant of the oath.  She says that it's regularly used.

Source: Reformatorisch Dagblad (Dutch), h/t NRP

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