AMSTERDAM, December 3 (IslamOnline) - Dutch Immigration and Integration Minister Hilbrand Nawijn asked Imams and preachers in mosques across the country to use the Dutch language in their sermons.

He also pressed them to convince members of the Islamic minority to comply with the values and customs of the Dutch society.

Imams play a major role in rectifying the negative image of Islam and are steering the Islamic community to merge into the Dutch society, added the minister.

The statements of Nawijn, a member of the far-right List Pim Fortuyn (LPF) party, came Tuesday, October 1, during his inauguration of a school for training Islamic preachers and Imams to only use the Dutch language for their religious sermons.

According to an article published on the Islamic Al-Resala website, the new school will give the preachers and Imams intensive courses as well as lectures on the principal values of the Dutch society, including tolerance, religious freedom, and freedom of expression.

The school will also address some controversial issues such as Hijab and crimes of honor.

The Immigration and Integration Ministry, a newly introduced one, asserted that joining the school is compulsory for all new Imams.

Imams will not be given work permits unless obtaining a graduation certificate from the school, it added, stressing that failure in the school exam or drop-outs would prompt expulsion from the country.

A ministry spokeswoman said that if Imams fail to attend school lectures or refuse to come to the school, this would mean they are not welcomed in the country and would be expatriated.

According to her, the new law applies to new Imams while it would not affect already serving Imams.

She underlined, however, that the government works to convince old Imams to join the school and benefit from its courses.

According to Al-Resala website, 33 scholars have already been registered in the new school, mostly of Moroccan and Turkish origin.

They will be forced to get 600-hour lessons on Dutch language and values and foot the bill, it added.

The Immigration and Integration Ministry only promised them compensation for half the cost, if graduating, said the website.

The new school will be administrated by veteran Muslim activists known for their close ties with the Dutch government circles and their enthusiasm for merging Muslims into the Dutch society.

According to some Muslim activists, the school is a chance for Muslims to rectify misunderstandings inside the small Muslim community and help its members abandon extremists tendencies.

Most Muslims, however, were dumb founded by Nawijn's statements that only Dutch must be used in Holland 450 mosques.

In a related development, Yassein Hartough, a spokesman for the Islam and Citizenship Organization, deemed Nawijn's statements an intervention in religious affairs.

Religious organizations should be given freedom to organize themselves in the way they want, he said.

The new changes in Holland come on the backdrop of the Sept 11 attacks on New York and Washington as well as anti-Islam statements by the far-right opposition leader Pim Fortuyn who was assassinated in May be an environment advocate.

Holland was among the very first western countries to recognize the special nature of the Muslim minority and tried to organize Muslim groups and recognize Muslim schools.