The Netherlands heading for a Clash With Islam

The Netherlands has gained international attention by becoming the most recent European nation to stir up against Islam. Geert Wilders, chairman of the recently formed Netherlands’ Freedom Party, called the Koran “an inspiration for murder” and said that if the prophet Mohammed were alive today, he would have him “tarred and feathered as an extremist and deported if he were in Holland.” Wilder has produced a film he plans to air this March on how the Koran inspires murder.

It is becoming increasingly common in Europe for politicians to speak out against Islam. Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber decried the multiplying number of Islamic mosques in Bavaria this past September. Austrian candidate for the Graz City Council Susanne Winter made headlines for saying that Islam should be “thrown back where it came from, behind the Mediterranean.” Now Geert Wilders has joined the ranks of politicians disgruntled by Islam’s spread across Europe.

What makes Wilders’s actions even more serious, however, is the fact that he is actually producing a film propagating his views. This is taking it a step beyond just making a statement in a speech. Up to this point, all the most controversial films and cartoons about Islam have been produced by cartoonists, journalists, artists or filmmakers (like Theo van Gogh).

Iran has already expressed outrage against Wilders’s proposed film. “We expect the Dutch government to prevent screening of such a film. Otherwise, the Majlis MPs will call on the Iranian government to review its relations with Holland,” said Iranian Foreign Policy Chairman Alaeddin Borujerdi. He warned that the Muslim world would not tolerate any kind of insult to Islam and that “extensive repercussions from Muslims throughout the globe” would occur if the film is shown.

In the past, the leaders of European nations have apologized for and culled any images that the Islamic world has raised outrage against. This time around, the Dutch seem set to stand up for their so called free speech. Instead of banning the release of the film, the Dutch government has prepared evacuation plans for its Middle East embassies and held emergency meetings with Dutch counterterrorism services.

Dutch government officials have called for EU support in the event of a Islamic backlash against the film. On the sidlines of a recent informal EU meeting in Slovenia, Luxembourg Justice Minister Luc Frieden said, “We must also protect those who may be hurt or harmed by irresponsible statements …. It is our moral duty to call upon everybody, to make people aware, so that they do not abuse their fundamental rights.” Islamic repercussions against Wilders’s film may extend far beyond the borders of the Netherlands. The European Union is preparing for this eventuallity.

Offending Islam and Islamophobia is considered in most of the European countries as free speech, but don't try to raise any issue regarding the Jewish community because you might risk a ban and end up in jail.