Open Letter to King Willem-Alexander  

Your Majesty,  

First of all, I would like to sincerely thank you for your Christmas speech this year. Your message was inclusive and heartwarming. I say this as a subject and citizen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as a Muslim, as a husband, as a father, and as a doctor. I also recognize the context in which your message was delivered: as the head of state of the most far-right, racist, and Islamophobic government the Netherlands has ever seen. While the Christmas speech, unlike other speeches, is a personal message written by yourself with input from Queen Máxima and your direct advisors, it is hard to imagine that there was no pressure from certain coalition partners within the current government regarding its content. The fact that you had the courage to nevertheless express the right words of inclusivity, understanding, and respect makes you an admirable person.  

That said, I feel compelled to speak out about parts of your message that I believe are incorrect or incomplete, and I respectfully ask you to reflect on these matters.  

First, your message suggests a conflict or polarization between two specific population groups in the Netherlands, namely Jewish Dutch and Muslim Dutch people, as if this arises solely from events elsewhere. Without naming it, everyone knows you are referring to Gaza. What is happening in the Netherlands is actually a citizen movement of Muslims, Jews, and Christians standing together against this genocide, against its perpetrators, and their supporters. What you are doing, however, is reducing the Palestinian freedom struggle and the ensuing genocide inflicted on them by Israel to a caricatured and simplistic religious conflict. Like much of the Dutch media, you either consciously or unconsciously ignore the fact that there is an illegal military occupation (as ruled by the ICJ in July this year) by Israel over Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. You ignore that this 57-year-long illegal military occupation, with its accompanying illegal annexations and apartheid, is being carried out at the expense of the indigenous Palestinian population, comprising both Muslims and Christians.  

You also overlook that this is, and has been for over 100 years, a resistance against a colonial project. Was the freedom struggle of resistance hero Tula against Dutch authorities in Curaçao a religious movement? Was the American Revolution against the British religiously motivated? Was the Algerian struggle against the French colonialists religious in nature? If the answer is “no” in all these cases, then why is this protest and criticism of Israel portrayed as religious in the Netherlands? By specifically mentioning these two religious groups in your message, you give additional legitimacy to this incorrect narrative, which does not contribute to resolving any tensions. If you make the wrong diagnosis, you cannot save the patient, even with the most expensive medicines. 

Second, you did not address the legitimate frustration felt by many in the Netherlands—Muslims and non-Muslims alike—which stems, among other things, from the consistently inconsistent behavior of the government of which you are the head of state. This inconsistency includes failing to uphold rulings of the ICJ and ICC, UN resolutions, and international humanitarian and war laws. It includes the double standards applied to other conflicts and wars, such as in Ukraine, as well as the obstruction and unjust condemnation of organizations like UNRWA. It includes the distortion of facts surrounding the Maccabi hooligans and the relentless push to sell arms and fighter jet components to Israel, in defiance of ICJ rulings, even taking the matter to the Supreme Court. We, your subjects, miss your moral voice in addressing our legitimate grievances and frustrations.  

Nevertheless, given the context of our times—populism, far-right radicalization, xenophobia, racism, and Islamophobia, not only in the Netherlands but across Europe—your speech was courageous and admirable. I hope, though I know better, that the rest of the Netherlands will someday truly grasp the core of your message.   

Sincerely, 

Nouaf Ajubi