Religion and tolerance in The Hague
Freedom of religion and religiousbeliefs are a fundamental right in the Netherlands and The Hague.People are free to worship as they choose, either individually or ingroups, provided they remain within the boundaries imposed by the lawand respect others with regard to noise levels, health hazards anddisturbances of the peace.
In the Netherlands, church and state are separate. The governmentdoes not interfere in the internal affairs of organisations thatprofess religious or philosophical beliefs. There are approximately 300mosques and prayer centres in the Netherlands, and Islamic burialgrounds have been established in many places.
The Hague counts more than 200 church congregations in its midst. Itseems there is something for everyone, including Francophone, American,English, German, Russian Orthodox, Polish, Hungarian, Italian,Spanish-speaking, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, African,Eritrean and Ethiopian and International congregations.
In addition the city has more than half a dozen mosques, three synagogues and a large number of Asian temples and other non-Christian houses of worship.
In July 2007 the Eik en Duinen cemetery announced that it wouldexpand the number of Muslim graves in the new section of the cemetery.In 1979 Oud Eik en Duinen was one of the first cemeteries in theNetherlands to offer Muslim graves.
bron: www.denhaag.com
