A quote from the Dutch press agency NIS, 7 November 2007

Tariq Ramadan is to hold the Sultan of Oman chair of Islamology at the University of Leiden. Education and Culture Minister Ronald Plasterk said yesterday in the Lower House that he does not object to Ramadan's appointment.

The Party for Freedom (PVV) complained that "the sultan of an Islamo-fascist dictatorial state" is paying 2.5 million euros to win influence at a Dutch university. PVV MP Bosma added that Ramadan does not reject stoning of women and wants to destroy Israel. The conservatives (VVD) also suggested that Ramadan poses a risk to national security.

But Plasterk was unimpressed: "We live in a free country. (...) I have no judgement on the university's selection methods", said the Labour (PvdA) minister. "As far as I know Ramadan does reject the stoning of women", said Plasterk, who in addition called him an "interesting" man.

De Volkskrant had reported yesterday morning that Ramadan was selecte from 40 candidates for the chair financed by Oman. Ramadan will mainly focus on the position of Muslims in Western Europe and will start his work in the summer months. In Leiden, he will also be involved with the training of Imams in the Netherlands that the cabinet wants to develop.