SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: It is the kind of stunt that has many fearing the worst: Dutch right-wing populist Geert Wilders plans to release a film about Islam. Politicians worldwide are already trying to stop the project, before a single scene has been shown. Critics fear the film could lead to bloodshed in many countries.
Let us summarize what has happened to date. On Nov. 2, 2004, an Islamic fundamentalist murdered Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, a descendant of the painter Vincent van Gogh, in broad daylight on a street in Amsterdam.
The killer, a 26-year-old Dutch citizen, the son of Moroccan immigrants, shot the filmmaker at 9 a.m. as van Gogh was riding his bicycle. He then slit his throat and, using a knife, pinned a note to his victim's chest, claiming responsibility and explaining his motives. The killer's true target was politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali. But she, unlike van Gogh, was under 24-hour police protection. The bloody act was also a declaration of war against Dutch society, which, as the murderer was convinced, was controlled "by the Jews."
Theo van Gogh and Ayaan Hirsi Ali had collaborated to produce a short film called "Submission," which uses four real-life examples to illustrate the poor treatment of women in Islam. The film was shown on Dutch television in the summer of 2004. Mosques in the Netherlands were unhappy about it, but their reactions were less vehement than expected. Van Gogh had already developed a reputation as a provocateur who paid little attention to what people thought about him -- a committed enfant terrible. He liked to refer to Muslims as "geitenneukers," or goat fuckers. He made fun of dead Jews by describing them as "copulating yellow stars in the gas chamber." He also had little regard for Christian values and symbols. How a Film Triggered a Global Panic >>> By Henryk M. Broder
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
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