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Holland Scrambles to Avoid Muslim Crisis

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Friday, 29 February 2008

THE HAGUE — The Netherlands is scrambling to avoid a crisis in relations with the world's Muslims, appealing to a hot-headed right-wing lawmaker not to broadcast a controversial anti-Islam documentary. Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin and Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen personally met with Geert Wilders, the leader of the Freedom Party, which controls nine of 150 seats in parliament. "They expressed their concerns over the possible consequences and damage the film could unleash, politically, economically and for individual figures," Justice Ministry spokesman Ivo Hommes told Agence France-Presse (AFP). The two ministers pleaded with the far-right lawmaker for almost an hour to back down on plans to release a controversial documentary about the Qur'an. Entitled "Fitna," an Arabic word used to describe all things that can test faith and sometimes synonymous to evil, the 15-minute edit is slated for television airing next month. According to a Dutch daily which has seen early rushes, the film links images of current bloodletting in Muslim countries to chapters of the Qur'an, ending with an image of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Islam considers any drawing or picture of the prophet as blasphemous. Defiant Wilders said he was determined to air the film and there are plans to make it available on a special internet site. In August, Wilders described the Qur'an as a "fascist" text which exhorts followers to kill and rape, comparing it to Mein Kampf, which outlines Hitler's racist ideology. He has also called for banning the Qur'an from the Netherlands. Offensive It was the second time government officials warned the far-right politician over his offensive documentary. "The government is worried about the reputation of the Netherlands, Dutch businesses and the security of Dutch citizens living abroad," state television reported after interviewing Wilders at the end of the meeting. The government fears the documentary broadcast would trigger protests in Netherlands and overseas and strain ties with Muslim countries. The reprinting of a drawing of a man described as Prophet Muhammad with a ticking bomb in his turban in Denmark has reignited an international crisis that began in 2005 when Jyllands-Postens commissioned and published 12 caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. Protests have been raging in Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Indonesia, Jordan, Sudan and Egypt, since the cartoon was reprinted two weeks ago. Sudan has declared a national boycott of Danish products, diplomats, companies and institutions. Several Muslim scholars, politicians and lawmakers are calling for reactivating a boycott campaign against Denmark, launched in 2005. Wilders' anti-Islam film has already sparked street protests as far afield as Indonesia. Turkey has voiced concern about the film, and the Iranian government called it a "provocative and Satanic" act. Dutch Muslims, who make up one million of the country's 16 million population, have vowed a calm and smart handling of the crisis, with plans to open mosques on the day the film is screened to demonstrate tolerance and diffuse tension. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has accused Wilders' party of stigmatizing, stereotyping and even outright racist discourse targeting Muslims. Islam Online 29 February 2008

 

 

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