The Dutch government says that it will abandon its long-standing policy of multiculturalism that has encouraged Muslim immigrants to create an alien and parallel society within the Netherlands

The new integration policy will place more demands on immigrants. For example, immigrants will be required to learn the Dutch language, and the government will take a tougher approach to immigrants who ignore Dutch values or disobey Dutch law. The government will also stop offering special subsidies for Muslim immigrants. The government will introduce new legislation that outlaws forced marriages and will also impose tougher measures against Muslim immigrants who lower their chances of employment by the way they dress. More specifically, the government will impose a ban on face-covering Islamic burqas as of January 1, 2013. If necessary, the government will introduce extra measures to allow the removal of residence permits from immigrants who fail their integration course. Polls show that a majority of Dutch voters support the government's skepticism about multiculturalism. According to one poll, 74% of Dutch voters say that immigrants should conform to Dutch values. Moreover, 83% of those polled support a ban on burqas in public spaces. The proper integration of the more than one million Muslims now living in Holland has been a major political issue ever since 2002, when Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was assassinated for his views on Muslim immigration, and since 2004, when Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was stabbed to death for producing a movie that criticized Islam.