'We are superior' - Dutch

2006-06-03 22:01

The Hague - Ten percent of Dutch people admit to having racist opinions - that is, they consider themselves to be more intelligent than foreigners - according to a poll published on Saturday.

The survey by the Motivaction polling agency was published in the protestant daily Nederlands Dagblad.

The poll found that half of the people in Holland have an aversion to Muslims, 43% think Islam is a threat to peace and two-thirds feel the faith is at odds with modern life in Europe.

However, 73% denied being racist and said they favoured a multicultural society.

The Netherlands counts only 6% Muslims among its 16 million inhabitants.

The country is long believed to have escaped the ethnic tension problems seen in some other European countries - until the meteoric rise of right-wing populist politician Pim Fortuyn that is.

Fortuyn was killed by an animal rights activist in 2002, just days before general elections.

He had soared up the polls because of his harsh criticism of the Dutch immigration policy he believed was too soft.

Since then, hard-line immigration minister Rita Verdonk has introduced obligatory tests of the Dutch language and culture for prospective immigrants, and called for a ban on the use of a foreign language in the streets of the country.

- AFP