The Dutch national police has announced it is to stop organising religious celebrations for people outside the force, including iftar meals that break the daily fast in Ramadan, from January 1, 2027.
The decision, confirmed by chief constable Janny Knol on September 21, follows a report in the daily De Telegraaf and amends the force’s code of conduct for officers.
Officers may still attend events run by others, such as Christmas, Easter, Ramadan, Hanukkah, Diwali, Purim or Holi, provided they do not take part in religious rituals. Knol said this was because contact with communities is “indispensable” for trust, prevention and de-escalation.
Such visits are described as functional. Staff may still mark holy days quietly inside a station.
Police officers visiting iftars has become a flashpoint issue in Dutch politics.
In certain regions, the police has organised its own iftars, shared congratulatory messaging on Islamic feast days on social media and described Ramadan as a “holy month”. The Central Netherlands unit hosted an iftar in Almere, east of Amsterdam, this spring, while police in Utrecht used the “holy month” description online, according to Dutch media.
Critics said this was in line with the principles of multiculturalism but collided with the principles of state neutrality and secular government, causing anger among the native Dutch population, which had seen its Christian heritage progressively pushed back by the same government.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, footage of uniformed officers praying in an Amsterdam mosque at Eid al-Fitr drew widespread criticism online, broadcaster Hart van Nederland reported.
“If we ourselves organise meetings of a religious character, beliefs can be taken as ours, and that does not sit with our neutral position,” Knol said.
“Precisely at a time when what the police does and fails to do is being scrutinised more closely, we must be able to say exactly what fits our position,” she added.
De Telegraaf, citing people involved in talks between the police, the safety regions and justice minister David van Weel of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), had reported a stricter operational framework.
According to the newspaper, almost all participation in “external religious gatherings” would be limited. Organising, facilitating or attending an iftar in uniform would be forbidden, though a “functional visit” to keep a link with a neighbourhood would still be allowed.
Officers on duty already fall under a lifestyle-neutrality code that bars political or religious display.
Units, including Amsterdam, have for years both attended and hosted iftars. The Amsterdam unit has held its own celebration for more than 20 years, most recently with speeches by local police chief Peter Holla and mayor Femke Halsema.
The Reformed Political Party (SGP), a theocratic and conservative Christian party, together with the centre-right JA21 put parliamentary questions on that practice in 2025. A bid by the two parties to curb police iftars fell just short of a majority, while the VVD won backing for a motion on how officers’ neutrality in uniform could be better safeguarded.
Van Weel then distinguished attending an iftar from calling to prayer in uniform, which he said did not fit a neutral force. Religious symbols on the uniform were already banned in 2023.
A new motion from JA21 MP Ingrid Coenradie, a former state secretary for justice and security, was tabled on July 2 and backed by a broad majority in the House of Representatives. It has pushed the argument on.
It asks that police units put no staff, money or premises into organising iftars, and that the force, as an authority, keep a neutral bearing.
Van Weel said in September that the operational rules were being written and that the House would be told by the end of the month.
In a letter to parliament on September 21, he said the new arrangements answered those motions. The code was amended in consultation with him and he said he and Knol “both attach great value to the neutrality of the police”.
The rules are meant to cover every faith, including Christian celebrations at Easter and Christmas.
In parliament another fight has been about Islamic meals. ChristenUnie leader Mirjam Bikker told a committee debate on the police that she had “never received an invitation from the police for a Christmas carol service”.
The Dutch national police chief has expressed outrage after an officer received so many death threats, following the chaotic arrest of a Muslim woman, that he has been forced to go into hiding with his family for several days. https://t.co/jQewjyDOrM
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 6, 2026
