The Hofstad Network (in Dutch: Hofstadnetwerk or Hofstadgroep) is an Islamist terrorist organization of mostly young Dutch Muslims of mainly North African ancestry. The name "Hofstad" was originally the codename the Dutch secret service AIVD used for the network and leaked to the media. The name likely refers to the nickname of the city of The Hague, where some of the terrorists live, though the AIVD denies this.
The network is said to have links to networks in Spain and Belgium. Among their contacts is Abdeladim Akoudad, also known as Naoufel, one of the suspects of the Casablanca Attacks. The group is influenced by the ideology of Takfir wal-Hijra. Redouan al-Issar, also known as "The Syrian" is the suspected spiritual leader of the group. Most media attention is attracted by Mohammed Bouyeri, sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Dutch film director Theo van Gogh and by Samir Azzouz, suspected of planning terrorist attacks on the Dutch parliament and several strategic targets such as the national airport and a nuclear reactor. The group is also suspected of planning to kill several members of government and parliament.
Read more about Hofstad Network: History, Trial, Members, VARA
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“How have I been able to live so long outside Nature without identifying myself with it? Everything lives, moves, everything corresponds; the magnetic rays, emanating either from myself or from others, cross the limitless chain of created things unimpeded; it is a transparent network that covers the world, and its slender threads communicate themselves by degrees to the planets and stars. Captive now upon earth, I commune with the chorus of the stars who share in my joys and sorrows.”
—Gérard De Nerval (1808–1855)