"Ban the Quran" campaign (2012 – 2015)

Key Dates & Events

• On 8 August 2007, Wilders wrote an open letter published in the Dutch daily Volkskrant calling to “ban the Quran” in the Netherlands, likening it to the ban on Mein Kampf.


• In 2013, he publicly reiterated a campaign to ban the Quran and "stop the Islamisation of the Netherlands".


• On 26 August 2016, PVV’s manifesto ahead of the March 2017 elections declared: "All mosques and Islamic schools closed, a ban on the Quran."


• Although the campaign was active during the 2012–2015 period (as the user asked), I found strongest documentation for the manifesto in 2016 (which builds on prior years) and earlier remarks in 2007.


• On 8 January 2024, Wilders announced he was withdrawing legislation (first proposed in 2018) that would ban mosques and the Quran.

What was the campaign about?

• The campaign was driven by the idea that the Quran (and more broadly Islam) is inherently violent or incompatible with Dutch society. For example, in 2007 Wilders said the Quran “contains chapters that call on Muslims to oppress, persecute or kill…” and demanded it be banned just like Mein Kampf.


• In the 2016 PVV manifesto he set out concrete policy aims: banning the Quran, closing mosques and Islamic schools, halting migration from Islamic countries.


• The campaign was mostly rhetorical and policy-platform rather than fully implemented law. Proposed legislation never achieved a parliamentary majority.