Dutch officials have initiated an investigation into Rotterdam Islamic University President Ahmet Akgündüz, a staunch supporter of the Turkish government, who said that killing members of the faith-based Gülen movement was legitimate.
Amsterdam-based journalist Basri Doğan said on Monday in a YouTube broadcast that Dutch Education Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven has started to investigate the professor’s remarks and said that if necessary, the accreditation of his university could be revoked.
According to Doğan, Akgünduz’s recent remarks on the Islamist Akit TV in Turkey are being hotly debated among politicians in the Netherlands.
The Gülen movement, a global network with Turkish origins, is inspired by the teachings of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016. The president of Rotterdam Islamic University argued that according to Islam, the killing of Gülen followers is permissible given their alleged rebellion against the state.