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Dutch MP Posts anti-Islam film online
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| Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders has posted a controversial film critical of Islam's holy book, the Koran, on the internet.
The opening scenes show a copy of the Koran, followed by footage of the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001. The 17-minute film was posted on video-sharing website LiveLeak. Its planned release had sparked angry protests in Muslim countries. Dutch PM Jan Peter Balkenende said the film wrongly equated Islam with violence. "We believe it serves no purpose other than to offend," he said in a statement. "But feeling offended must never be used as an excuse for aggression and threats." The film is called "Fitna", a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife". Dutch broadcasters have declined to show the production by 44-year-old Freedom Party (PVV) leader Mr Wilders, who lives under police protection because of earlier death threats. 'Spiteful' Graphic images from the bomb attacks on London in July 2005 and Madrid in March 2004 are shown. Pictures of a woman being stoned, scenes from a beheading and images of the Dutch director Theo van Gogh, who was murdered by a radical Islamist in 2004, are also included. And pictures appearing to show Muslim demonstrators holding up placards saying "God bless Hitler" and "Freedom go to hell" also feature. The film shows a young girl in a headscarf making derogatory comments about Jewish people. It also displays a graph showing how the number of Muslims in the Netherlands and Europe has grown. The film ends with someone turning pages of a Koran, followed by a tearing sound. A text that appears on the screen says: "The sound you heard was from a page (being torn from a) phone book. "It is not up to me, but up to the Muslims themselves to tear the spiteful verses from the Koran." The film concludes: "Stop Islamisation. Defend our freedom." Two years ago the publication in Denmark of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad sparked protests across the Muslim world. But Brahim Bourzik, a spokesman for a Dutch Moroccan group, told Reuters news agency he did not believe Mr Wilders' film would spark fury from Muslims in Holland. "It is not a film, it is propaganda," he said. "All the elements have been seen before, there is nothing new in it." The UK-based website which allowed the film to be posted online defended its decision on Thursday. "LiveLeak.com has a strict stance on remaining unbiased and allowing freedom of speech so far as the law and our rules allow," it said in a statement posted online. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7317506.stm
@Mods: I know that a topic based on this film has already been made, but I chose to make a new one because the film was just recently released so it can be discussed in specifics. Also, there is a poll. I hope you understand, thanks. 
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| Relief over Dutch MP's anti-Islam film
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, with no demonstrations or riots. Comments posted to popular websites like that of De Telegraaf - the Netherlands' best selling newspaper - are mixed. "It seems to me that this will not lead to problems for Mr 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. Support 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." "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." Fouad Sidali Co-operation of Moroccans in the Netherlands There were also many messages of support for Mr Wilders 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 Muslim groups, which say that Mr Wilders is painting an image of all Muslims as extremists. "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," said Fouad Sidali from the Co-operation of Moroccans in the Netherlands. Graphic images The film, whose title Fitna means 'Ordeal' or 'Strife' in Arabic, shows verses of the Koran alternating with graphic scenes of recent atrocities: the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, the charred bodies of train passengers bombed in Madrid and gruesome images from attacks in London and Somalia. The 15-minute production quotes the Koran - Surah Four, verse 56 - as saying: "Those who have disbelieved our signs, we shall roast them in Hell." Mr Wilders' message is clear: be warned because Islam's true purpose is to conquer the world and destroy our freedom and democratic systems. "We believe it serves no other purpose than to cause offense." PM Jan Peter Balkenende Towards the end, a hand is shown grabbing a page of the Koran. 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. Mr Wilders then declares that it is not up to him to tear malicious verses out of the Koran, but that Muslims themselves must do that. In a press statement issued, unusually in English as well as Dutch, just a few hours after the film appeared on the internet, the Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende criticised 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 offense." 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," he said. "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 Mr Wilders into legal problems, saying it is not discriminatory in the legal sense. But the government says it will look at this issue and a mistake in the film may well see the member of parliament in hot water. 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. And the Danish cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard, is suing Mr Wilders through the Danish Union of Journalists, alleging he infringed copyright by using a cartoon of his without permission. The cartoon depicts the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban. 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. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7318363.stm
Last edited by HalfBloodPrince on Fri Apr 04, 2008 4:27 pm; edited 2 times in total
Good for him, posting his opinions and refusing to be intimidated by terrorist retaliation or political correctness. If you agree with him or not, you have to commend him for that.
i have seen the film and in my eyes it is a blew-up movie, i mean that the commercial around it was huge and eventually it was not a big deal. I shall tell you why, in other topic on this forum i readed that almost every religion book has some phrases that can be seen as such movies.
A minister has no reason in my eyes to make such movies. Have no problems with muslims, as long as everyone will follow the rules than there is no problem, only those who not accept those rules are making the fact that a whole culture will be seen in a bad light.
A minister has no reason in my eyes to make such movies. Have no problems with muslims, as long as everyone will follow the rules than there is no problem, only those who not accept those rules are making the fact that a whole culture will be seen in a bad light.
| ocalhoun wrote: |
| Good for him, posting his opinions and refusing to be intimidated by terrorist retaliation or political correctness. If you agree with him or not, you have to commend him for that. |
I commend him for nothing. He's using the rights "everyone is born with." Congrats to him...it's not some amazing feat. Not to mention the movie was flat out stupid and useless. It didn't even begin to make a point.
| liljp617 wrote: |
| I commend him for nothing. He's using the rights "everyone is born with." Congrats to him...it's not some amazing feat. Not to mention the movie was flat out stupid and useless. It didn't even begin to make a point. |
Well Chris, what do you think of the movie?
| HalfBloodPrince wrote: |
| Well Chris, what do you think of the movie? |
I haven't seen it and have no plans to do so, so it would be wrong of me to pass an opinion on it.
If you are wanting an opinion on Islam from me, then OK.
I have a problem with all organised religions - including Islam. I don't believe that any particular scripture is 'the word of God' (mostly because I don't believe in God). I think Islam needs to address its problems honestly and rationally - in a way which I don't currently see happening.
I accept that not all Muslims are terrorists or bad people - the suggestion that they are is silly. I do, however, see much intolerance and bigotry in the way the religion is practiced in many countries, and Muslims cannot simply wash their hands and say 'that this is because they are misinterpreting Islam' - that will not do. All Muslims are, according to Islam, brothers/sisters in faith. The correct response to a brother/sister who is behaving badly is to tell them so and encourage them to change. Unfortunately there is a fundamentalism in many Muslims that refuses to accept the fact that beliefs and practices could possibly be in error. That has to change.
When I look back into history I see much to be admired in Islamic countries in terms of tolerance and learning - particularly when compared to Christianity in the same eras. Nowadays the situation is different - almost the reverse. That saddens me. The West must take the blame for some of this, to be sure, but it cannot all be laid at the foot of the imperialist unbelievers.
| Bikerman wrote: | ||
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Merely referring to the Constitution I'm so often smacked in the face with in the US. =/ It wasn't really part of discussion and wasn't my point to be honest.
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