Muslims upset at in-your-face lesson in Dutchness

A woman wearing a Muslim head scarf walks past a lingerie advertisement at the Leidseplein in Amsterdam.

A woman wearing a Muslim head scarf walks past a lingerie advertisement at the Leidseplein in Amsterdam.
Photo: AP

By Gregory Crouch in Nijmegen, the Netherlands
March 17, 2006

THIS is not exactly a run-of-the-mill homework assignment: watch a film clip of an attractive woman sunbathing topless and try not to be shocked.

"People do not make a fuss about nudity," the narrator says.

That lesson, about the Netherlands' nude beaches, is followed by another: homosexuals have the same rights here as heterosexuals do, including the chance to marry.

Just to make sure everyone gets the message, two men are shown kissing in a meadow.

The scenes are brief parts of a two-hour-long film that the Dutch government has compiled to help potential immigrants, many from Islamic countries, meet the demands of a new entrance test that went into effect on Wednesday.

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