NIS NEWS BULLETIN: THE HAGUE, 24/01/08 - In an open letter in newspaper De Volkskrant yesterday, Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders criticised the commotion over his Koran film. With their panicky reactions, politicians and authorities are proving that Islam is an intolerant ideology, in his view.
Wilders uses half of his letter to sketch a contrast between Islam and Christianity. "Imagine that (...) it became known that I was going to make a film to demonstrate the Fascist character of the Bible. Say that I had urged in a letter a few months earlier that the Bible should be banned. (...) Would Premier Balkenende then (...) have spoken of a serious crisis with international effects? Would there (...) have been a special meeting of ministers? Would the chief editors (...) in public broadcasting have conferred about how to deal with the film?" (...) "Of course not."
Wilders summarises a further catalogue of things that would "of course not" have happened if he had criticised the Bible. "But now that my film is not about the Bible but about the Koran, government, media, Muslims and others have been in a state of hysterical panic for weeks." There are two explanations for this, according to Wilders.
"Firstly, Islam is an intolerant ideology (...), within which there is no room for matters like self-reflection and self-criticism. Nor does there appear to be any room for individual responsibility and self-control. (...). Secondly, there is a question of fear. The emergency scenarios (of authorities) illustrate the state of panic within the Dutch government at the moment." (...) "It is not the cabinet (....) but the fear of Islam that governs the Netherlands."
"The fact that a not yet shown film of about 10 minutes could according to some lead to economic boycotts, riots and other horrible things says everything about the nature of Islam. Nothing about me. The cabinet acknowledges with its panicky reaction that Islam is not comparable to Christianity, but is a unique ideology. And this ideology thus demands a separate, unique approach. The Koran film has thus already demonstrated its usefulness."
The National Anti-terrorism Coordinator has warned Wilders that he may have to leave the Netherlands temporarily after the appearance of his anti-Koran film, Wilders added in the letter. The film will appear in "a few weeks," said the PVV leader. [Source: Wilders: Cabinet Fears Prove Islam's Intolerance >>>]
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