The initial reaction in the Netherlands following the long-awaited showing of right-wing politician Geert Wilders' anti-Islam film Fitna is one of relief. Commentators are almost unanimous in their assessment that the Internet video is much less inflammatory than expected.
Mr Wilders himself called the film ‘respectable' saying he wanted it to spark debate - others said it was ‘nothing new.' Public opinion has been restrained, no demonstrations or riots and comments posted to popular websites like that of De Telegraaf - the Netherlands' best selling newspaper - are mixed.
"It seems to me that this won't lead to problems for Geert Wilders or the Netherlands, it was a mess, just separate fragments linked together. It was nothing more than what Wilders always says, in fact it was toned down,"
writes Simon from Amsterdam. Frank in Utrecht had this to say:
"I'm no fan of Wilders but when you see things as laid out in this film you get a clear picture. It will make a lot of people think, and luckily thinking has never done anyone any harm."
Screen-shot from Fitna the Movie - 2 million
page views within three hours after its release |
Support and criticism
There were also many messages of support for the Freedom Party leader with people saying they felt he was addressing issues other politicians are afraid to talk about - those being Islam and integration. In their reactions, different Dutch Muslim organisations expressed a similar sense of relief.
"The worries that I and Dutch society had about riots and that sort of thing are now considerably reduced,"
said Brahim Bourzik from the National Moroccan Council.
However, there was criticism from the Muslim groups who say that Geert Wilders is painting an image of all Muslims as extremists. Fouad Sidali, from the Co-operation of Moroccans in the Netherlands, said:
"The film is not as shocking as we thought it was going to be. We haven't had phone calls from our community that people are offended by this. But having said that, we think the images are repulsive, totally terrible. They are images that have already gone down in history as the deeds of criminals - they are responsible for these acts, not Islam."
Tearing paper
The film, whose title Fitna means ‘Ordeal' or 'Strife' in Arabic, shows verses of the Qur'an alternating with graphic scenes of recent acts of terror: the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, the charred bodies of train passengers in Madrid, gruesome images from atrocities in London and Somalia. "Those who have disbelieved our signs, we shall roast them in Hell", according to Surah 4, verse 56, quoted in the 15-minute production.
Wilders' message is clear: be warned because Islam's true purpose is to conquer the world and destroy our freedom and democratic systems. Towards the end, a hand is shown grabbing a page of the Qur'an; the image is accompanied by the sound of tearing paper, the screen then goes blank and subtitles explain that the sound was that of a page being torn from a telephone book. Wilders then declares that it is not up to him to tear malicious verses out of the Qur'an, but that Muslims themselves must do that.
Prime Minister
In a press statement issued, unusually in English as well as Dutch, just a few hours after the film appeared on Internet the Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said the government regretted the showing of the film.
"The film equates Islam with violence, we reject this interpretation. The vast majority of Muslims reject extremism and violence and in fact the victims are often also Muslims. We therefore regret that Mr Wilders has released this film, we believe it serves no other purpose than to cause offence."
Experts
Maurits Berger, an expert on Islam from Leiden University, shares the view that the film is milder than expected, but he says there could still be problems.
"I'm worried about what I call the Salman Rushdie effect - then having not read the book was no bar to protest and that could be the case here. It may be that people will protest against ‘the anti-Muslim' film without ever having seen it - so there is still need for caution."
Most experts believe that the film will not get Geert Wilders into legal problems saying it is not discriminatory in the legal sense. But the government says it will examine this and a mistake in the film may well see the MP in hot water.
Cartoonist
A photograph of the rapper Salah Edin was mistakenly used as the photo of Mohammed Bouyeri, the murderer of Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh. The rapper is consulting his lawyers. Also said to be consulting his lawyers is the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, Mr Wilders used his cartoon - an image of Mohammed with a bomb in his turban - without permission.
Despite the mild reactions to the film the co-ordinator for terrorism prevention Tjibbe Joustra is keeping the level of terrorist threat at ‘substantial.' This is the second highest level in the Netherlands.
Tags:
anti-Islam movie,
Fitna,
Freedom Party,
Geert Wilders,
Islam,
Kurt Westergaard,
Maurits Berger,
Mohammed Bouyeri,
Muslims,
Qur'an,
Salah Edin,
Salman Rushdie
steven tepper,
29-05-2008
- USA
Muslims are mad? Boo hoo... really Muslims are always mad. Look, Islam is a violent religion no matter how much spin the bleeding hearts of the western world want to make it out to be a religion of "peace". It's a 6th century cult that has no place in the western world. Period. Those Muslims that don't want to embrace western values should be deported. [Edited]
mina,
04-04-2008
- iran
We should not insult religions. If we want to prove some people are bad we should make films against the bad faces of that special people with insult their religion we canot candamn the bad people cuz it instead of affect on people it will encourage world to help them and that bad people can easily escape from their bad activities I think All religions are good and say one thing This is some muslims that are bad i myself experience it
Franklin,
01-04-2008
- USA
"But the government says it will examine this and a mistake in the film may well see the MP in hot water." Yes Be very careful with your "free" speech! The government is closely watching and if you trip up they will catch you...but only if your speech is against Islam, not for anything else in the swingin' Netherlands. Because they are afraid of Muslim violence.
Where else in the West would the government so diligently VOLUNTEER to impose Sharia values on itself? Truly, Holland have set an example for the Dhimmi leaders of Europe! Dutch people, your appeasement soon will be pinned to your chest.
Soleman,
30-03-2008
-
This is no film, and does not deserve all this attention.
Just some news clips and stolen material.
Take the beheading of Nick Berg for example, every intelligent person knows it was faked.
In short this is disgorged TV trash.
Clifford Campos ,
30-03-2008
- USA
Why the sensitivity with Islam? Other religions are critizied and ridiculed without the violent reaction. Islam is part of the world they should live with it. If Muslim folks [emigrate] to other counties, they should assimilate. Wilders has a right to express his views. It is hard to understand why you Dutch do not defend that right even if you do not agree with him. I hope you do not censor this email. Thanks, Clifford Campos, Carson City, Nevada USA [Spelling edited]
Atheist,
29-03-2008
- South Africa
All religion should be banned! Religion is just a damn dreadful idea. Those who are religious are just blinded by [their] "leaders". There is no god.
Erica,
29-03-2008
- United States
Thanks for saying what most people are willing to say -- or even think -- when you made "Fitna". One only needs to listen to your message, and open the Qu'ran to read a verse, to realize that Islam is not the "religion of peace" that everyone else makes it out to be. Thanks again, and I support you in your quest against this evil religion.
Ada Gilbert.,
29-03-2008
- Nigeria
'Be wise before not after,look before you leap,this two proverb are enough to tell this Dutch politician that he made the greatest mistake in his life for humiliating islam with his blasphemous movie'Fitna".
Damaged has been done, I'm sure his life is in danger, and he would not live long to tell the story......
leoneri,
29-03-2008
- Indonesia & Netherlands
I finished watching the movie, and there is nothing new in there. There are only provocations to make image that Islam is bad. All is just picture that now relic of the past. By the way, why he didn't put pictures of soldiers raping the muslim woman, or when soldiers burn civilians houses in Iraq and Afghanistan, or when soldiers killing young man and children during the war. Now you get my message, it is all about war. Do we have war here? Or does Wilders want one? Why? I'm muslim and currently studying in the Netherlands. I love peace and I love science. The family of my mother is Catholic, and family of my father is Islam, and we're doing ok. I always thinking that Dutch is a logical society, but apparently one or few of them is not like that, the bad thing is that this kind of man is doing politics. LOL. But, it's life anyway. And it's part of freedom. But if this Wilders really is a respected person, he should think more with his brain before making such movie.
John,
29-03-2008
- Canada
We have, through centuries of difficult effort, arrived at a state of elected self government. Who would want to trade that for government by a group of poorly educated Imams, using "precepts" taken straight out of the middle ages?
If Mustafa Kemal Ataturk were back in Turkey now, he would probably want to run the Caliph off, *again*. The society he created in post WW1 Turkey was a model that would stand up today. What is happening there now is a tragedy.
Muslims have been fighting among themselves for over a thousand years. I don't want any part of it.
The only way to govern ourselves is to be grown up enough to govern *ourselves* through a rational parliamentary process. That's the only way to avoid factional religious fighting in our societies.
*Al*l religions should be strictly controlled in the political arena, as Mustafa Kemal did in post WW1 Turkey.
rita,
28-03-2008
- belgium
Thank you Mr. Wilders for waking up the democratic world to the islamists' real agenda. We needed something like this. The fact that the majority of muslims may not agree with the islamists does not justifiy or diminish the islamists' goal. The muslims should now wake up too and clean up their Qu'ran and eliminate its hateful messages which were written in the ignorance of the past. What was considered valid then is not necessarily valid today. The world has moved on, even if islam has not. If islam can accept certain aspects of western modernisation created by democracy and the freedom to be creative (guns, the internet, air travel, electricity, medecine, mobile phones, nuclear power - in fact all the modern conveniences that we have invented) then it should accept the people who created all these things which they try to acquire. Why should the islamists have access to everything we have invented and then use it against us to destroy us and take us back to the dark ages? What good do they offer the world today in exchange? Honour killings, stoning and the death penalty. No thank you!
Hamid,
28-03-2008
- Canada
If Geert Wilders is a man of his word let him walk freely the Red Light Area in Amsterdam. After all it is his country. He will go to hell just like his comrade Theo van Gogh.
