How can the town ensure that residents of the Liendert district and the leaders of the El Fath mosque association engage in dialogue, and how can agreement be reached on their working and living together in the district?

The town council deliberately chose to act as a facilitator in this process, since formally speaking it really only comes into the picture when the point is reached at which planning procedures come into play. However, experience shows that the coming of a mosque can elicit many different emotions in a district, and the council judged it wise to approach the matter with care.

The arrival of the mosque in the district is also the subject of a voluntary agreement drawn up between the mosque leaders and local residents. This includes arrangements about such matters as parking, communication, calls to prayers and so on. In addition, a survey has been conducted of the quality of life problems in the district.

To begin with, the town council established contact with the board of the El Fath mosque to determine the financial feasibility of a new mosque. After this a process was initiated in which residents of the Liendert district could familiarise themselves with the mosque association.

To ensure that the talks did not become too wide-ranging, they were split into matters having to do with the quality of life in the district and the more technical discussion based on the building plans for the new mosque.

The council is tackling these problems along with people from the district development department and a Good Neighbours working group.

City of Amersfoort
Heino Abrahams, tel. +31 334694245

13/09/2004

case

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Community development

Mediation