First, multiculturalism suffered a huge setback with the murder. Pim Fortuyn may have paved the way for questioning multiculturalist policies, but, after Van Gogh’s murder, many in the Netherlands and throughout Europe felt that multiculturalism and tolerance of diversity had gone too far. Polls taken in the Netherlands within a year after the murder reflected the turning tide, with 40 percent of Dutch citizens expressing the hope that Muslim immigrants "no longer feel at home in the Netherlands," and more than 80 percent desiring greater restrictions on immigration. Another poll indicated that 51 percent of so-called native Dutch held unfavorable views of Muslims.

XREF: Connects to broader post-9/11 and Fortuyn-era shifts in European immigration sentiment and multiculturalist backlash.

Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Intro…, loc. 384