Hofstad, MB dangerous relationship on Dutch soil

Nora Bandari

In late August, the British Investigative Journal TI published an investigation into the weaknesses of anti-extremism in the Netherlands, which revealed that one of the judicially convicted jihadists had recruited elements of his group, the Hofstad Network. It later turned out to be a Brotherhood-funded approach from Qatar.

The investigation discussed the story of Bilal Lamrani, from joining the terrorist group known as the Hofstad Network, to his work as a trainer to tackle extremism in Amsterdam. While in prison for trying to recruit another prisoner who was with him during his incarceration, police found hundreds of copies of extremist books and information on how to make bombs and explosives.

What about Hofstad?

Hofstad is a Salafi jihadist cell whose members are mostly Dutch youth of North African origin. It is located in The Hague, also known as Hofstad Group and Hofstad Netwerk, and adopts the ideology of atonement.

The first reference to Hofstad was in 2002, when the Dutch intelligence and public security service discovered meetings of the group run by a Syrian asylum-seeker, Radwan al-Issar, the group’s spiritual father, which put them under surveillance by the authorities.

In early 2003, a Hofstad member tried to join a rebel group in Chechnya but was discovered and arrested by the authorities. Two members of the group traveled to Pakistan, where they received paramilitary training, but returned in September that year and were discovered by the authorities.

On October 14 of that year, Spanish authorities arrested a Moroccan suspected of involvement in suspected activity linked to Hofstad, and police arrested five members of the group, including three who traveled abroad and were in contact with extremists in Morocco and Syria.

On 14 October 2003, some of the group’s members – Samir Azzouz, Ismail Akhenikh, Jason Walters and Radwan al-Essar – were also arrested on charges of planning a “terrorist attack” but released shortly thereafter.

One of the most prominent events after which Hofstad became known in the media was the murder of Dutch film director Theo van Gogh in 2004 for the production of a 10-minute film. He tackled violence against women in some Muslim societies, telling the stories of four abused Muslim women, including video footage of naked women wrapped in semi-transparent covers printed with verses from the Quran and telling their stories while bowing in prayer.

When the Spanish police thwarted a plot in October 2004 to target the National Court, a group recruited in Spain under the name of “Martyrs for Morocco” led by Algerian “Mohamed Achraf” was found to be linked to “Mohamed Bouiri” and “Hofstad”. The Spanish police discovered that the Algerian financed the Dutch group and made phone calls with Boeri.