‘Open hostility has become normalised’: Dutch Muslims fear rise of far right as general election looms

The poll is seen as a litmus test for the Netherlands and its democratic ideals, as activists decry a hardening of political discourse driven by Geert Wilders

The drawing depicted two women; a young blonde with a friendly expression and a scowling older woman wearing a headscarf. On top of the image was a nod to this month's general election in the Netherlands, along with the phrase The choice is yours."

The social media post, made by the far-right, anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders, prompted a record 14,000 complaints to the country's anti-discrimination hotline. Many of those who called to report the image compared it to Nazi propaganda from the second world war," the hotline said in a statement, adding that the 19 anti-discrimination agencies associated with the hotline had flagged the post to police, amid concerns that it could be an incitement to hatred.