A new and unusual slogan can be heard in the Somali community in the Netherlands: 'Stop the use of qat'. A small group of Somalis have started a campaign to have qat, an amphetamine-like stimulant, banned because they say users are responsible for numerous problems. The use and sale of the unprocessed qat plant is legal and unrestricted in the Netherlands.

Chewing qat is extremely popular in Somalia and among the Somali diaspora. For many Somalis, chewing qat is a daily activity; a recent survey found that more than 60 percent of the population chew it daily. It's very common to serve it after dinner. Chewing the fresh leaves can create a feeling of euphoria; it increases alertness and energy and suppresses hunger and tiredness. In 2006, Somalia's Supreme Islamic Courts Council banned qat during Ramadan, which led to riots in the city of Kismayo.

Narcotic
Qat is also extremely popular among the 25,000 Somalis who live in the Netherlands. Apart from being used for its pleasurable effects, it is also used to suppress emotions. Many Somali refugees have dramatic experiences and life in the Netherlands can be difficult for them: many cannot speak Dutch and unemployment in the Somali community is high.

Shipments of qat from the Kenyan city of Nairobi arrive at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport four times a week and much of it is then smuggled to Scandinavian countries, where it is classed as a narcotic and banned.

Ahmed Abdulwahab of the Dalmar Association finds it deeply distressing that qat is legal in the Netherlands. He started the campaign against qat use because it can cause oral cancer, heart problems, aggression, erratic behaviour, sleep disorders, psychological problems, depression and anxiety.

Mr Abdulwahab says that qat use plays a significant role in the high level of criminal activity among Somali youths in the Netherlands.

Minimal risks
The Dutch government claims that the use of qat is risk-free. Two years ago, Public Health Minister Ab Klink ruled that the use of qat was neither a public health threat nor a public order risk. Other European governments believe otherwise and it is banned across the EU except for in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

According to Mr Abdulwahab, the Dutch government underestimates the problems caused by qat within the Somali community and he is trying to warn people about it "many see it just as a fun drug, something that you use for pleasure but it's psychologically addictive," he says.

Terrorists
Earlier this summer, Dutch journalists discovered a link between qat smuggling and the Somali terrorist organisation al-Shabaab. Profits from the lucrative trade are said to help fund the terrorist group, which has links to al-Qaeda and is fighting to establish strict sharia law in Somalia.

Al-Shabaab's assets have been frozen, which makes qat smuggling one of the very few ways for the terrorists to generate funds. The Dutch secret service AIVD says it does not have sufficient evidence to prove that al-Shabaab controls the qat trade in Western Europe.