Mohammed Bouyeri
Encyclopedia
Mohammed Bouyeri (born 8 March 1978 in Amsterdam
) is an Islamist Dutch–Moroccan
and convicted murderer. He is currently serving a life sentence without parole
for the assassination
of Dutch film director
Theo van Gogh
. He holds both Dutch and Moroccan citizenship
. He was a member of the Hofstad Network
.
and subsequently went on to the "INHOLLAND" in Diemen
. He changed his major several times and left after five years without obtaining a degree
.
A second generation migrant from Morocco, Bouyeri used the pen name "Abu Zubair" for writing and translating. On the Internet he often posted letters and sent e-mail
under this name.
At an early age he was known to the police
as a member of a group of Moroccan "problem-youth". For a while he worked as a volunteer at Eigenwijks, a neighbourhood organization in the Slotervaart suburb of Amsterdam
. After his mother died and his father re-married in the fall of 2003, he started to live according to strict interpretations of Islamic Sharia
law. As a result he could perform fewer and fewer tasks at Eigenwijks. For example, he refused to serve alcohol
and did not want to be present at activities attended by both women and men. Finally, he put an end to his activities at Eigenwijks altogether. He grew a beard and began to wear a djellaba
. He frequently visited the El Tawheed mosque
where he met other radical Muslims, among whom was the suspected terrorist Samir Azzouz
. With the group of radicals he is said to have formed the Hofstad Network
, a Dutch terrorist cell. He claims to have assassinated van Gogh to fulfill his duty as a Muslim
. Serving as witness in another court case involving the Hofstad group in May 2007, Bouyeri for the time expressed in more depth his thoughts regarding Islam. Here he said that armed jihad
was the only option of Muslims in the Netherlands and that democracy was always a violation of Islam because laws cannot be produced by humans but only by Allah.
, in front of the Amsterdam East borough office (stadsdeelkantoor) on the corner of the Linnaeusstraat and Tweede Oosterparkstraat (52°21′32.22"N 4°55′34.74"E), while he was bicycling to work. Bouyeri shot van Gogh eight times with an HS 2000 handgun and Van Gogh died on the spot. He also tried to decapitate van Gogh with one knife, and stabbed him in the chest with another. The two knives were left implanted; one attached a five-page note to his body. The note threatened Western governments, Jews and Ayaan Hirsi Ali
(who went into hiding). The note also contained references to the ideologies of the Egypt
ian organization Takfir wal-Hijra
. Six years after the assassination, in a letter to a Muslim group in Belgium, he writes that he still has no regret killing Van Gogh.
fire with police during which he was shot in the leg. In his interrogations, he exercised his right to remain silent
. On November 11, public prosecutor
Leo de Wit accused him of six criminal acts: murder
, attempted murder (of a police officer), attempted manslaughter
(of by-standers and police officers), violation of the law on gun-control, suspicion of participation in a criminal organization with terrorist aims, and conspiracy to murder with a terrorist purpose Van Gogh, member of parliament
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
, and others.
When arrested, Bouyeri had on him a farewell poem with the title In bloed gedoopt from which it appears he intended to die a martyr
. The poem contains the following lines:
Pinned to the body of Van Gogh with a smaller knife, Bouyeri was said to have left a second letter, consisting of five pages in which Ayaan Hirsi Ali
, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
(VVD), and politicians in general are warned. It contains repeated references to alleged Jewish
influences in politics. The letter refers to the fundamentalist ideology of the Takfir wal-Hijra
. This letter probably was not written by Mohammed Bouyeri himself, but by his group's ideologist. It was signed Saifu Deen alMuwahhied.
-Osdorp. In a letter on 8 July, he announced that he would not attend the trial voluntarily and that he did not accept its jurisdiction. The Prosecutor demanded of the court that he be forcibly transported to the courthouse. This request was accepted by the court. Bouyeri's lawyers did attend the trial; they did not, however, ask questions or make closing statements. Bouyeri appeared before the court carrying a Qur'an
under his arm. At the trial Bouyeri expressed no remorse for the murder he admitted to having done, saying to the victim's mother: "I don’t feel your pain. I don’t have any sympathy for you. I can’t feel for you because I think you’re a non-believer." and that he would have done it again. Bouyeri also argued that "in the fight of the believers against the infidels violence is approved by the prophet Muhammad
".
In the Dutch law system, a Prosecutor
demands a punishment in a requisitoir. Presenting the requisitoir to the court took 4 hours, at the end of which the demand was presented. It read (unabridged):
On 26 July 2005, Bouyeri received a life sentence without parole. He is presently held in Nieuw Vosseveld
prison.
Life imprisonment in the Netherlands is the most severe punishment there and is always without parole. Under Dutch law an early release from life imprisonment is possible only through a pardon by the Queen, which is almost never granted. Excluding war criminals, Bouyeri is only the 28th person to receive this punishment since 1945. A life sentence is ordinarily seen only with multiple-homicide cases, but a new law introduced in 2004 also makes the sentence applicable for leaders of terrorist organisations. In addition, the Wet terroristische misdrijven ("terrorist crimes law", in effect since 10 August 2004), also states that, if there is a terrorist motive for a crime, the term can be increased by half. Imprisonments ordinarily in excess of 15 years can be upgraded to life imprisonment, as was the case with Bouyeri.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
) is an Islamist Dutch–Moroccan
Moroccan-Dutch
The terms Moroccan-Dutch or Dutch-Moroccans refer to immigrants from Morocco to the Netherlands and their descendants. They are one of the larger allochtoon groups, making up 10.4% of the country's total population of foreign background....
and convicted murderer. He is currently serving a life sentence without parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
for the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of Dutch film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Theo van Gogh
Theo van Gogh (film director)
Theodoor "Theo" van Gogh was a Dutch film director, film producer, columnist, author and actor.Van Gogh worked with the Somali-born writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali to produce the film Submission, which criticized the treatment of women in Islam and aroused controversy among Muslims...
. He holds both Dutch and Moroccan citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
. He was a member of the Hofstad Network
Hofstad Network
The Hofstad Network is an Islamist group of mostly young Dutch Muslims of mainly Moroccan ancestry.The name "Hofstad" was originally the codename the Dutch secret service AIVD used for a set of individuals and leaked to the media...
.
Life
In 1995, Mohammed Bouyeri finished his secondary educationEducation in the Netherlands
Education in the Netherlands is characterized by division: education is orientated toward the needs and background of the pupil. Education is divided over schools for different age groups, some of which are divided in streams for different educational levels...
and subsequently went on to the "INHOLLAND" in Diemen
Diemen
Diemen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands with a population of around 24,000. Diemen is located in the province of North Holland directly to the east of Amsterdam within the capital's metropolitan area.-Geography:...
. He changed his major several times and left after five years without obtaining a degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
.
A second generation migrant from Morocco, Bouyeri used the pen name "Abu Zubair" for writing and translating. On the Internet he often posted letters and sent e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
under this name.
At an early age he was known to the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
as a member of a group of Moroccan "problem-youth". For a while he worked as a volunteer at Eigenwijks, a neighbourhood organization in the Slotervaart suburb of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. After his mother died and his father re-married in the fall of 2003, he started to live according to strict interpretations of Islamic Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law. As a result he could perform fewer and fewer tasks at Eigenwijks. For example, he refused to serve alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
and did not want to be present at activities attended by both women and men. Finally, he put an end to his activities at Eigenwijks altogether. He grew a beard and began to wear a djellaba
Djellaba
Djellaba is a traditional long, loose-fitting outer robe with full sleeves worn in the Maghreb region of North Africa and in Arabic-speaking countries along the Mediterranean.Traditionally djellabas are made of wool in different shapes and colors though nowadays...
. He frequently visited the El Tawheed mosque
El Tawheed Mosque
The El Tawheed Mosque is a mosque in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.The foundation that manages the mosque was founded in 1986. The mosque is on Jan Hanzenstraat in the Old-West section of Amsterdam. Aside from its normal function, the mosque is used for social work, and for lessons in the Arabic...
where he met other radical Muslims, among whom was the suspected terrorist Samir Azzouz
Samir Azzouz
Samir Azzouz is a Dutch national of Moroccan descent. He is currently incarcerated in Nieuw Vosseveld on suspicion of attempting to procure heavy firearms and planning terrorist attacks...
. With the group of radicals he is said to have formed the Hofstad Network
Hofstad Network
The Hofstad Network is an Islamist group of mostly young Dutch Muslims of mainly Moroccan ancestry.The name "Hofstad" was originally the codename the Dutch secret service AIVD used for a set of individuals and leaked to the media...
, a Dutch terrorist cell. He claims to have assassinated van Gogh to fulfill his duty as a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
. Serving as witness in another court case involving the Hofstad group in May 2007, Bouyeri for the time expressed in more depth his thoughts regarding Islam. Here he said that armed jihad
Offensive jihad
Offensive Jihad is armed Jihad meant to expand the realm of Islam at the expense of the House of War . Although these world divisions was derived by jurists, they are not mentioned in the Qur'an and hadith....
was the only option of Muslims in the Netherlands and that democracy was always a violation of Islam because laws cannot be produced by humans but only by Allah.
Assassination of Theo van Gogh
Bouyeri assassinated Van Gogh in the early morning of 2 November 2004, in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, in front of the Amsterdam East borough office (stadsdeelkantoor) on the corner of the Linnaeusstraat and Tweede Oosterparkstraat (52°21′32.22"N 4°55′34.74"E), while he was bicycling to work. Bouyeri shot van Gogh eight times with an HS 2000 handgun and Van Gogh died on the spot. He also tried to decapitate van Gogh with one knife, and stabbed him in the chest with another. The two knives were left implanted; one attached a five-page note to his body. The note threatened Western governments, Jews and Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Magan Ali is a Somali-Dutch feminist and atheist activist, writer, politician who strongly opposes circumcision and female genital cutting. She is the daughter of the Somali politician and opposition leader Hirsi Magan Isse and is a founder of the women's rights organisation the AHA...
(who went into hiding). The note also contained references to the ideologies of the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian organization Takfir wal-Hijra
Takfir wal-Hijra
Jama'at al-Muslimin , popularly known as Takfir wal-Hijra , was a radical Islamist group led by Shukri Mustafa, which emerged in Egypt in the 1960s as an offshoot of Muslim Brotherhood, inspired by Sayyid Qutb.The group was...
. Six years after the assassination, in a letter to a Muslim group in Belgium, he writes that he still has no regret killing Van Gogh.
Arrest
On 2 November 2004, shortly after the assassination of Theo van Gogh, Bouyeri was arrested close to the scene of the crime, following an exchange of gunGun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
fire with police during which he was shot in the leg. In his interrogations, he exercised his right to remain silent
Right to silence
The right to remain silent is a legal right of any person. This right is recognized, explicitly or by convention, in many of the world's legal systems....
. On November 11, public prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
Leo de Wit accused him of six criminal acts: murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, attempted murder (of a police officer), attempted manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
(of by-standers and police officers), violation of the law on gun-control, suspicion of participation in a criminal organization with terrorist aims, and conspiracy to murder with a terrorist purpose Van Gogh, member of parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Magan Ali is a Somali-Dutch feminist and atheist activist, writer, politician who strongly opposes circumcision and female genital cutting. She is the daughter of the Somali politician and opposition leader Hirsi Magan Isse and is a founder of the women's rights organisation the AHA...
, and others.
When arrested, Bouyeri had on him a farewell poem with the title In bloed gedoopt from which it appears he intended to die a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
. The poem contains the following lines:
|
|
Pinned to the body of Van Gogh with a smaller knife, Bouyeri was said to have left a second letter, consisting of five pages in which Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Magan Ali is a Somali-Dutch feminist and atheist activist, writer, politician who strongly opposes circumcision and female genital cutting. She is the daughter of the Somali politician and opposition leader Hirsi Magan Isse and is a founder of the women's rights organisation the AHA...
, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
(VVD), and politicians in general are warned. It contains repeated references to alleged Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
influences in politics. The letter refers to the fundamentalist ideology of the Takfir wal-Hijra
Takfir wal-Hijra
Jama'at al-Muslimin , popularly known as Takfir wal-Hijra , was a radical Islamist group led by Shukri Mustafa, which emerged in Egypt in the 1960s as an offshoot of Muslim Brotherhood, inspired by Sayyid Qutb.The group was...
. This letter probably was not written by Mohammed Bouyeri himself, but by his group's ideologist. It was signed Saifu Deen alMuwahhied.
Trial
Bouyeri's trial took place over two days, 11 and 12 July 2005, in a high-security building in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
-Osdorp. In a letter on 8 July, he announced that he would not attend the trial voluntarily and that he did not accept its jurisdiction. The Prosecutor demanded of the court that he be forcibly transported to the courthouse. This request was accepted by the court. Bouyeri's lawyers did attend the trial; they did not, however, ask questions or make closing statements. Bouyeri appeared before the court carrying a Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
under his arm. At the trial Bouyeri expressed no remorse for the murder he admitted to having done, saying to the victim's mother: "I don’t feel your pain. I don’t have any sympathy for you. I can’t feel for you because I think you’re a non-believer." and that he would have done it again. Bouyeri also argued that "in the fight of the believers against the infidels violence is approved by the prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
".
In the Dutch law system, a Prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
demands a punishment in a requisitoir. Presenting the requisitoir to the court took 4 hours, at the end of which the demand was presented. It read (unabridged):
- The defendant rejects our democracy. He even wants to bring down our democracy. With violence. He is insistent. To this day. He sticks to his views with perseverance. This calls for a strong response. By literally placing him outside our democracy. This means that he will not be allowed to vote. This means deprivation of active and passive suffrageSuffrageSuffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
.
Taking everything into consideration, the severity of the facts, the underlying circumstances, and the personality of the defendant, I find only one punishment suitable and that is life imprisonmentLife imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
.
On 26 July 2005, Bouyeri received a life sentence without parole. He is presently held in Nieuw Vosseveld
Nieuw Vosseveld
Nieuw Vosseveld is a high security prison in the Dutch town of Vught, part of the Custodial Institutions Agency of the Dutch Ministry of Public Safety and Justice within the Dutch criminal justice system...
prison.
Life imprisonment in the Netherlands is the most severe punishment there and is always without parole. Under Dutch law an early release from life imprisonment is possible only through a pardon by the Queen, which is almost never granted. Excluding war criminals, Bouyeri is only the 28th person to receive this punishment since 1945. A life sentence is ordinarily seen only with multiple-homicide cases, but a new law introduced in 2004 also makes the sentence applicable for leaders of terrorist organisations. In addition, the Wet terroristische misdrijven ("terrorist crimes law", in effect since 10 August 2004), also states that, if there is a terrorist motive for a crime, the term can be increased by half. Imprisonments ordinarily in excess of 15 years can be upgraded to life imprisonment, as was the case with Bouyeri.
External links
- 2 November - Death of a filmmaker
- Text of the farewell poem at Indymedia
- Dr. Albert BenschopAlbert BenschopAlbert Benschop is a Dutch sociologist with the University of Amsterdam's faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He is the chief editor of the university's SocioSite project....
. Chronicle of a Political Murder Foretold: Jihad in the Netherlands (Kroniek van een Aangekondigde Politieke Moord: Jihad in Nederland) - For his religious and ideological ideas and their development, see the report of prof. Dr.Ruud Peters, who was an expert witness for the prosecution in the trial http://www.sociosite.org/jihad/peters_rapport.pdf (in Dutch)
Further reading
- Ian BurumaIan BurumaBuruma is a nephew of the English film director John Schlesinger, a series of interviews with whom he published in book form.-Works:*The Japanese Tattoo with Donald Richie ISBN 978-0-8348-0228-5...
, Murder in Amsterdam: the Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance (New York: Penguin Press, 2006). ISBN 9781594201080