"Our religion is sometimes distorted by people here." Last week in the Netherlands, Youssou N'Dour, the Senegalese superstar, defends his religion.

''When I was very young, we talked about Europe as an El Dorado. It was something magical, a continent of success. I remember that I always spoke of Amsterdam. I wanted to go someday to Amsterdam. Without really knowing the country well.''

“The Netherlands is related to my music. The first time the English musician Peter Gabriel heard my voice, it was on the Dutch radio. Oh! What is that voice?, he said."

''And I love football. I like the players here a lot. And I have friends in the Netherlands. It is not possible for me to do a European tour without coming to Holland.''
 
Ridiculous
The Dutch politician Geert Wilders? No, I don't know him. But I do know a bit of the general situation in the Netherlands. That there are more and more people who have extreme right ideologies.''

“Personally, I think Islam is the opposite of what he (Wilders, ed) thinks it is. Islam is a religion of tolerance, a religion of peace. It is a religion - if you read the equivalent of the Bible, the Quran - which addresses all issues. But like in all religions there are people who are a little extreme."

"For me the multitude of ethnicities, languages, religions is not an obstacle! It is a treasure. Unfortunately more and more people are turning it into an obstacle. They use their message, their speech to say this is a problem. I think it's a shame there are people who use ridiculous messages to gain power. Thus managing to convince more people. It's a shame.''
 
Distorted
Religion is everything for me. Religion follows me in everything I do. I think it's important for me to always defend my religion and use my music and my reputation to promote the true face of our religion, which is sometimes distorted by people here.''
 
"The media reports a lot on these extremists as if they were important. But the majority of Muslims are tolerant and peace loving. I think the media have played a very important role. They always show a very hard side of the fundamentalists. Fundamentalists also exist in other religions. But we talk a lot more about the Muslim fundamentalists. I do not agree.''

Mission
"Personally, I will always be a musician, but I'm involved in politics. I am deeply interested in the politics of my country, of my continent."
 
"As for the Netherlands, I fundamentally believe that the Dutch are open people. They will always open their eyes to the richness of cultures. I believe in this."