Amsterdam, Rabi Thani 26/July 17 (IINA) - Muslims now make up 750,000 of Holland’s population, many of them having immigrated to the country during the last three decades.

There are now 400 mosques and other smaller prayer places, plus 30 Islamic primary schools. These schools use the curriculum that is used in the country’s formal schools, in addition to the Islamic Studies that are taught. Though these schools do get a government subvention, they are still few and can absorb only about four percent of the Muslims children, that is, about 7,000 only.

The first Islamic secondary school was opened in the city of Rotterdam in 2000. This was preceded by the establishment of the Islamic College in the same city in 1997, to which 300 boys and girls enrolled as students at its inauguration.

Turks are the largest ethnic group in Holland, and they have set up a number of organizations and unions to take care of their welfare, among them the Central Federation of Islamic Culture.

Next come the Surinam ethnic group whose origins could be traced back to the Indian sub-continent. But the best-organized ethnic group is the Indonesians.

According to a survey carried out by the Free University in Amsterdam, the ethnic group with the largest number of organizations is the Moroccan group. They have around 700 organizations and entities, most of them affiliated to mosques, and are, in the main, social and cultural organizations.

The Muslims as an ethnic minority in general are playing their role in the political life of the country, particularly on the local government level. There are at least 100 elected Muslims members of local councils, and there is room for more to be elected in future elections, in view of the fact that the government had passed a law in the early nineties that allows for dual nationality.

HI/OB/IINA