Productions
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14 March 2008
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ORF Weltjournal
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The first Dutch Muslim mayor |
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After the local elections in 2006 Ahmed Marcouch became the first Muslim mayor of the Amsterdam district of Slotervaart. A Social Democrat, he is a man of action, resolutely pushing through tough measures – something that doesn't always win him friends. Most of Slotervaart's 45,000 inhabitants are immigrants, largely from Morocco. Slotervaart became well-known because several members of a supposed Islamist terror organization grew up there, as did Mohammed B., murderer of the Dutch film director Theo van Gogh. With his dynamic manner, firm handshake, his assertive look, and dark, scrutinizing eyes, there is no doubt that Marcouch is nobody's fool, as the young Moroccan criminals he used to deal with as a policeman soon discovered. Together with six other Muslim police officers he was given the task of re-establishing the contact with the Muslim population that his colleagues had completely lost. A portrait of Ahmed Marcouch and the Slotervaart district through the eye's of a Dutch Moroccan policeman and a rapper; and a biking course for migrant women.
Activities: research, set up, planning, accompany filming, interviews, translations, driving.