Abdulwahid van Bommel

(1944, Amsterdam) used to be a jazz musician, but followed an imam training in Turkey. As an expert on islam Van Bommel published various books, amon others Having a Laugh with Those Muslims (2007), Islam and Women's Rights (2005) and Islam, Love and Sexuality (2003). A Dutch paper wrote of the last book: ‘Van Bommel stands up for the equality of man and woman and frees sex from its taboos. ….] Yet his book is a clear sign that there is movement in Islamic thought. Van Bommel often mediates between muslims and non-muslims and plays an important role in the interfaith dialogue in the Netherlands. He was imam of a mosque in The Hague, director of the Nederlandse Moslim Omroep besides working as a spiritual counsellor.