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Dutch Government opposes islamophobic film
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by vizpix | March 4, 2008 at 04:19 pm
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Do not broadcast critical Islam movie, says Dutch foreign minister
29 February 2008
AMSTERDAM - Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen on Thursday called upon legislator Geert Wilders, founder of the right-wing Freedom Party, not to broadcast a movie that is heavily critical of the Islamic religion.
Verhagen said the movie might "endanger the lives of Dutch nationals" worldwide and harm Dutch business in Muslim countries.
"I am very concerned about the wellbeing of Dutch nationals abroad," Verhagen said, speaking in a Dutch current affairs programme.
"I am not trying to meet demands from anti-democratic forces and terrorists in the Middle East," Verhagen said. "I am simply protecting Dutch interests abroad."
The faction leader of Verhagen's Christian Democrats in parliament, Pieter van Geel, joined him in the public request.
Earlier Thursday the Taliban threatened to harm Dutch military targets in Afghanistan and beyond if Wilders persists in his plans to release a movie criticising the Islamic religion.
Al-Qaeda has also threatened to harm Dutch targets if the movie is broadcast. Last week the Iranian parliament warned the Dutch government to ensure the movie will not be aired.
Responding to Verhagen, Wilders, who announced his film will be broadcast in the coming days on www.fitnathemovie.com, said the Dutch minister could "get lost."
Wilders is the most outspoken Islam critic in the Netherlands. He has called Islam a "backward and retarded culture" and the Koran a "fascist book."
In August, he called for a ban on the Koran in the Netherlands.
Last November he announced he would make a movie explaining to the Dutch public why the Koran is a fascist book that incites people to commit violence and terrorism.
Even before Dutch Muslims responded to the movie, the Dutch government officially warned Wilders that the film might pose a danger to his life.
In 2004, Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh was assassinated by a Muslim fundamentalist after making the movie Submission, a film criticising the position of women in the Muslim world.
Wilders is one of several Dutch Islam critics who has been living under heavy personal security ever since.
Earlier this month Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende sharply criticised Wilders' approach on migrants and Islam in an opinion article in Dutch daily Volkskrant.
Balkenende said last year that Wilders had the "every right" to make a movie of any kind, as the Netherlands is a "free country" where people enjoy freedom of expression.
The Freedom Party Wilders established prior to the 2006 parliamentary elections is doing very well in the Dutch polls. If elections would be held today, the party would jump from 9 to 15 seats in parliament.
[Copyright dpa 2008]
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at 16:29 on March 4th, 2008
Dutch secret police has been following Wilders for many years, especially interested in his frequent visits to Israel, including several personal meetings with top politicians.
He was also observed going into the Israeli embassy , right nextdoor to the parliament, repeatedly, and one of his aides was an employee at the israeli embassy....
here is the wikipedia entry:
Position on Israel
In the past twenty five years Geert Wilders has visited Israel about forty times, he says. According to his own sayings, he has met Ariel Sharon ("many times") and Ehud Olmert, among others, in Israel. Furthermore, he claims tight connections with the Mossad.[18]
Originally, Wilders wanted to move to the Jewish state because he
thought one could in Israel, different than in the Netherlands, 'work
for your own money'.[18] Wilders worked in bread factories and a moshav.
With the money he earned, he traveled through Israel and some near
countries. He started to love Israel, or as he states it in his own
words in 2003: "The past years I have visited many interesting
countries, from Tunisia to Turkey and from Cyprus to Iran, but nowhere
I have that special feeling of solidarity that I always get if I set
foot on the Israeli Goerion-airport." [18]
Wilders has, in the eight years he has served in the Dutch Parliament, always supported Israel and attacked countries he perceives as enemies of Israel.[18] More than a few members of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
suspect Wilders of taking guidance from the Israeli Embassy in the
Netherlands (which is only a few meters away from the Dutch Parliament)
in order to question Dutch ministers. Wilders has always denied this. [18]
Furthermore, Wilders has made some proposals in the Dutch Parliament
inspired by Israel. For example, in 2005 Wilders proposed implementing
Israel's administrative detention in the Netherlands, a practice heavily criticized by human rights group Amnesty International.
Also, at the time Wilders was member of the People's Party for Freedom
and Democracy, he had an employee who directly came from the Israeli
Embassy. [18]
at 16:31 on March 4th, 2008
from the The Telegraph;
Ban Koran like Mein Kampf, says Dutch MP
By Bruno Waterfield
Last Updated: 2:40am BST 14/08/2007
The
Koran should be banned as a “fascist book” alongside Mein Kampf because
it urges Muslims to kill non-believers, says Dutch populist MP Geert
Wilders.
The leader of the far-right Freedom Party, which
holds nine of the Dutch parliament's 150 seats has called for the ban
after an alleged Islam inspired attack on a Labour councillor who had
renounced the Muslim faith.
Mr Wilders claims that the Koran “calls on
Muslims to oppress, persecute or kill Christians, Jews, dissidents and
non-believers, to beat and rape women and to establish an Islamic state
by force”.
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"Ban this wretched book like Mein Kampf is banned!,” he wrote in yesterday's De Volkskrant newspaper.
The call to treat the Koran in the same way as
Adolf Hitler's biography, which has been banned by the Dutch for over
60 years, is the latest in a long line of Islam controversies sparked
by Mr Wilders, who lives under tight security after murder attempts by
suspected Islamist terrorists.
Els Lucas, a Dutch lawyer, has filed a compliant
to the country's prosecutor demanding action against Mr Wilders for
“insulting a section of the community”.
"I think he has gone too far and it is unseemly that a member of parliament expresses himself like this,” she said.
The offence is punishable with a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a fine of up to £11,300.
But Ayhan Tonca, chairman of the Dutch Muslim Contact Group argues that Mr Wilders should be ignored.
”This is a ridiculous idea. There is not much news at the moment so he is trying to create some,” he said.