Dutch anti-Islam film meets with heavy criticism (Roundup)

Europe News

Mar 28, 2008, 15:17 GMT

The Hague - Criticism from home and abroad of Dutch opposition lawmaker Geert Wilders' anti-Islam film grew Friday after Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende appeared on television to distance the government from the film. A screenshot made available 27 March 2008 by www.liveleak.com from the islam critic film 'Fitna' by Dutch politician Geert Wilders. The film Fitna - critical of the Koran and made by controversial MP Geert Wilders, one of the Netherlands' most outspoken Islam critics - has been put on the internet on 27 March 2008.

A screenshot made available 27 March 2008 by www.liveleak.com from the islam critic film 'Fitna' by Dutch politician Geert Wilders. The film Fitna - critical of the Koran and made by controversial MP Geert Wilders, one of the Netherlands' most outspoken Islam critics - has been put on the internet on 27 March 2008. Balkenende spoke shortly after the film, Fitna - in which Wilders draws links between terrorist acts by Muslim extremists and the words of the Koran - was posted on the www.liveleak.com website Thursday evening. In the run-up to the film's release, Wilders had described the Koran as a 'fascist book' that incites people to violence. The prime minister told reporters during a press conference that the Dutch government regretted the fact that Wilders had decided to release the film, even though the government had asked him to refrain from making it public. The European Union condemned the film. 'We believe that acts, such as the above-mentioned film, serve no other purpose than inflaming hatred,' a statement from the Slovenian EU presidency said Friday. 'The European Union and its member states apply the principle of the freedom of speech which is part of our values and traditions. However, it should be exercised in a spirit of respect for religious and other beliefs and convictions.' EU foreign ministers holding an informal meeting in the Slovenian town of Brdo echoed that sentiment in an implicit condemnation of Wilders' move. 'The message that goes out from Britain is that one can and should combine strong commitment to values of freedom of speech with at the same time respect for religious and racial diversity,' Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said. 'Freedoms are not really freedoms if they hurt someone, so let's be very careful with the way how we use our freedoms,' Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, who hosted the meeting, said. Reaction from Muslim countries was swift. Tehran warned of the 'consequences of such a provocative move,' as Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini termed the video 'insulting and anti- Islamic' and symbolic of the 'deep antagonism' of some Western states towards Islam and Muslims. Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Legowo said the contents of the film were 'misleading and full of racism' and called the production of the film an 'irresponsible action done under the blanket of freedom of the press.' Indonesian House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono said the government must 'take action' against the film because internet users could easily download and distribute it, triggering religious conflict. Pakistan summoned the Dutch ambassador to condemn 'the defamatory film which deeply offended the sentiments of Muslims all over the world and which was expected to result in expressions of strong abhorrence and outrage.' Fitna, which means the split between believers and infidels, is accompanied by the dramatic music Asa's Death, part of the Peer Gynt Suite by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg in 1875 and is a compilation of Koran verses and old video footage. The Koran verses are primarily sections interpreted as calling on Muslims to attack and destroy enemies of the faith. It also shows the attacks on New York's World Trade Centre towers on September 11, 2001, and the London Underground on July 7, 2005, and video footage of Muslim terrorists executing Western hostages. The film suggests that violent passages from the Koran are directly used by Muslims as legitimization to commit violence and will ultimately endanger Western democratic and liberal values. The film ends by calling on the audience to do everything possible to counter what Wilders calls 'the danger of the Islamization of the Netherlands.' Reaction in the Netherlands was more subdued. Mark Rutte, leader of the Dutch Liberal VVD party - of which Geert Wilders himself was a member until being thrown out in September 2004 - said the film 'did not contain any new images.' 'The Netherlands does not need Wilders as a filmmaker. We need Wilders as a legislator, to debate about the Netherlands and to find solutions for serious problems, including the problems of integration and immigration.' Iranian-born Afshin Ellian, a professor in the philosophy of law affiliated with the universities of Leiden and Amsterdam, said Geert Wilders 'must have been advised by the best mullahs.' 'Wilders stayed perfectly within the realm of what sharia or Muslim law permits. No images of Mohammed or Allah, and no material that may be blasphemous to Muslims.' Minister of Integration Ella Vogelaar (Labour) did sound a word of warning, saying the film could increase people's fears of Islamic radicalism. 'The first half of the film contained shocking material,' she said. Meanwhile, the Dutch public prosecutor's office said it would investigate whether the film violated anti-discrimination legislation. A Danish newspaper cartoonist criticized the 'misuse' of his controversial cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in Wilders' film. 'My cartoon has been misused again. It has been pulled from its original context and set in a completely different one,' cartoonist Kurt Westergaard told Danish broadcaster DR. 'Wilders has not asked me for permission, so it is simply a case of violation of copyright rules,' Westergaard said, adding he would contact legal experts Friday.

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BunchofwooosiesMar 28th, 2008 - 15:48:08

The europian union is made up of a bunch of big woosies without enough guts to take a stand against an evil regrime.

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YUPMar 28th, 2008 - 19:19:40

They need to stand up against islam, and get rid of it. Even the 'gentle and peaceful' muslims freak out and get violent at the first sign of disagreement or disrespect, yet they can spit on the rest of us and it's okay! Enough of this hypocritical insanity. They need to stay in their own countries in the middle east, and quit spreading their disease of violence and hate to the rest of the world.

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We Muslims agree with geert to some extent..Mar 28th, 2008 - 19:59:52

It does not let you turn the other cheek to a transgressor, a robber or a thief, and states very clearly that if you keep quiet, then you are part of the corruption. HOW CAN THE CORRUPT LIKE IT?

It does not condone double facedness, HOW CAN A DOUBLE FACED INDIVIDUAL LIKE IT?

It does not condone illitracy, HOW CAN A CORRUPT ORGANISATION BENT ON TO KEEP THE MASSES UNEDUCATED LIKE IT?

It tells not to make nor obey the man made gods, HOW CAN GODLESS PEOPLE LIKE IT?

ISLAM DEMANDS TO TAKE ACTION: And on the list goes:......

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AnswerManApr 2nd, 2008 - 18:42:50

I am unaware of any other religion in the world that instructs its faithful to kill nonbelievers. Even in Pakistan, moderate Muslims who protest this film today are the same moderate Muslims who have tolerated and condoned the existence of madrases (schools) where small children begin their school day chanting DEATH TO ISRAEL - DEATH TO AMERICA.

Mass protests by Muslims over this film fill the streets in some countries. When I see the same numbers of moderate Muslims in the street, marching and holding up placards to denounce the so-called 'violent minority' among their faith, then and only then will I believe they really care about the damage this violent minority does to the image of their faith. Until then, I see a religion that wants to have its cake and eat it too.

Remember that incident with the British teacher - the 'teddybear' incident? There were people demanding that she be executed over it. What kind of religion is that?

One other thing ... and I want to drive this point home. Some cultures in Asia used to require women to have their feet bound ... forcing them to endure a future of permanent deformity. This practice has since been abandoned. Islamic culture champions the practice of female circumcision ... forcing women to endure a future of permanent deformity. This practice has NOT been abandoned. Don't believe me? See the IslamOnline.net page (URL shortened) below:

snipurl.com/23ahk

Barbaric behavior is neither spiritual nor cultural. It's just simply barbaric. And I think it's high time someone pointed it out. Geert Wilders should be commended for his film by all those who want a civilized future where people aren't threatened with death for thinking differently ... and where women are treated as human beings.

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