Moroccan boy apologises for Van Gogh killing

17 November 2005

AMSTERDAM — A young boy tried to apologise on Wednesday to Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander for the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam.

The issue arose on the last day of the official visit to Morocco by Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Princess Maxima, to mark the 400th anniversary of links between the Netherlands and Morocco.

The royal couple was visiting a school in Marrakech – dubbed a ‘school with the Koran – when one of the pupils offered his apology for Van Gogh’s murder. Van Gogh, a staunch critic of aspects of Islam, was murdered by Amsterdam-Moroccan Mohammed B. in November 2004.

Prince Willem-Alexander said the visit revealed that the murder was a hot topic in Morocco. “I said that he did not have to as there was nothing he could have done about it,” the prince said in relation to the boy’s apology.

“But it was a good opportunity to discuss the issue and to find out how the murder was experienced here. They are really concerned about it, and that is very heart-warming,” the prince said.

The boy said that young Muslims believed the murder was “far worse than insulting religion”.

A group of young people – six native Dutch and six from a Moroccan background – accompanied the royal couple on the trip to Morocco to boost understanding between the countries.

Subject: Dutch news