Ezra Levant on Geert Wilders' Acquittal
A Dutch court on Thursday acquitted controversial right-wing populist politician Geert Wilders on all charges relating to anti-Islamic statements he made in his films and on the Internet. The court said Wilders' comments had been part of a legitimate public debate.

After nearly six months, a trial against Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders ended Thursday in Amsterdam. A court acquitted the right-wing populist politician on charges of incitement, racial hatred and discrimination against Muslims.

In his verdict, leading judge Marcel van Oosten said that, while Wilders' statements were indeed offensive to Muslims, they were also part of the legitimate political debate. Wilders' claim that Islam is a violent religion and his demands for an immigration ban for Muslims had to be viewed in the context of the larger societal debate about immigration policies, the judge argued. He said the statements could not be directly blamed for increasing levels of discrimination against Dutch Muslims.

Wilders' supporters greeted the ruling, and the politician himself smiled as he left the courtroom.

The politician had been on trial since October 2010 because he compared the Koran with Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" in Internet forums and in "Fitna" , a film he made that was extremely critical of Islam. In his closing statement, Wilders said that his controversial statements against Islam were protected by the right to free speech. Wilders said he believed the process of Islamization presents a threat to Europe and that it is his right and duty to warn the public about it.

If he had been convicted, Wilders could have faced up to one year in jail or a fine of up to €7,600 ($10,865). At the peak of the controversy over his statements, Wilders was once even banned from entering the United Kingdom.

After making strong gains in elections in the Netherlands last summer, Wilders' party has become the third strongest in parliament. Although it is not technically part of the government, Wilders party supports the minority government, which is comprised of the center-right Liberal Party and the conservative Christian Democrats and which would collapse without backing from Wilders' Party of Freedom.

Wilders' comments sparked a massive debate on the integration of Muslims in Europe that has helped fuel other populist movements around the continent. In Germany , politician Thilo Sarrazin wrote a bestselling book warning that Muslim immigrants were dumbing the country down.


HT: Gates Of Vienna »

Dutch MP Acquitted in 'Hate' Trial
Dutch politician Geert Wilders has been cleared of "hate speech" charges.

A court in Amsterdam said that Wilders' statements were "rude and condescending" but not a criminal offence according to Dutch law.

The case has reopened discussions over freedom of speech in the Netherlands.

Al Jazeera's Tania Page reports from Amsterdam, the Netherlands.



My comment:

This video is a perfect example of biassed reporting. That Geert Wilders was acquitted yesterday is cause for celebration, not criticism: it marks the triumph of freedom over enslavement, the triumph of freedom of speech over oppression, the triumph of the enlightenment of the West over the darkness of the East.

Millions died during World War II for the freedoms we enjoy today. Let not Islam take those freedoms away! The growth of Islam in the West is indeed a serious threat to our Western way of life. Western politicians need to awaken from their slumbers. They have been lulled into a false sense security by the myths that the liberal media has peddled about the peaceful nature of Islam.

Islam is what it has always been: a belligerent, conquering ideology clothed in a deity. The West needs to be mindful of this at all times. There are many peaceful, delightful Muslims. This is very true. But what happens to societies in which Islam gains the upper hand is there around us for all to observe. And never forget this: Where there is no separation of politics and religion, there is no hope of democracy. Without democracy, there is no hope of freedom.

Geert Wilders has won a significant victory in The Netherlands. It is to be hoped that this victory will be a seminal moment for the West. It is to be hoped that this will mark a turning point in the West’s fortunes. Long live freedom of speech! Long live democracy! – © Mark

Geert Wilders 'Delighted' after Being Cleared of 'Hate Speech'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Geert Wilders, the prominent Dutch anti-Muslim politician, has been cleared of "hate speech" crimes for comparing the Koran to Mein Kampf and Islam to Nazism in an Amsterdam court.

Judges ruled that although Mr Wilders, whose anti-Islam Freedom Party came third in Dutch national elections last year, had made "hurtful and shocking", his comments were legitimate in terms of a lively Dutch public debate on multiculturalism.

Mr Wilders, 47, was put on trial after complaints of incitement to racial hatred were levelled against him by Muslims after he released a film which presented Islam as the biggest threat to world peace.

Fitna, meaning "strife" in Arabic, juxtaposed pages of the Koran with images of September 11 2001 terrorist attacks and fundamentalist burka clad Muslims with placards warning Europe to "be prepared for the real holocaust".

The flamboyant, peroxide blond Dutch MP, who now holds the balance of power in the Netherlands by lending parliamentary support to the minority government, also described the Koran as "fascist", comparing it to Hitler's book Mein Kampf, a text that is banned in the Netherlands.

In one opinion piece cited during the trial, he wrote: "I've had enough of Islam in the Netherlands; let not one more Muslim immigrate." » | Bruno Waterfield | Thursday, June 23, 2011

Fitna: The Movie
To mark Geert Wilders’ acquittal in The Netherlands, and to celebrate of freedom of speech, I am re-posting "Fitna” today

Comment on Always On Watch’s website »

Dutch Anti-Islam Lawmaker Wilders Faces Judgement
TIMES OF OMAN: Dutch: Dutch far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders faces judgement Thursday in an Amsterdam court for his statements attacking Islam, which he claimed were made to "defend freedom in the Netherlands."

Wilders, 47, will be in the dock as Judge Marcel van Oosten starts his verdict at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) in a trial watched closely by both Wilders' supporters and his detractors and broadcast live.

Wilders faces five counts of hate speech and discrimination for his anti-Islamic remarks on websites, Internet forums and in Dutch newspapers between October 2006 and March 2008, and in his controversial 17-minute movie "Fitna" ("Discord" in Arabic).

In the past he has likened the Koran to Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and "Fitna" shows shocking images of 9/11 and other terror attacks on western targets interspersed with verses from the Koran.

The 2008 movie caused widespread outrage in Muslim countries and opposition from the Dutch government, who feared it might spark a militant response similar to that which followed the publication in Denmark of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

But Wilders -- one of Europe's most heavily-guarded politicians -- has demanded his acquittal before the court, saying he was "obliged to speak, because the Netherlands is "under threat" from Islam. » | AFP | Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Trial of Geert Wilders Nears Verdict
NEW AMERICAN: As the spectacle of a man being tried for speaking the truth about Islam comes to its end in the Netherlands, the accused continues to assert that the accusations of “hate speech” that have been made against him are baseless — the problem is that Islam is an ideology of hatred.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), has been on trial in Amsterdam on the accusation that he was “inciting hatred and discrimination” against Muslims. It appears, however, that not even prosecutors believe Wilders to be guilty of the charges against him. As CNSNews explained in an article on the Wilders case earlier this week:

The Dutch legal establishment has proceeded with the landmark trial even though public prosecutors have requested that it be abandoned, leading to the peculiar spectacle of the officials whose job is to secure a conviction instead urging the Amsterdam district court to acquit the accused man.

The lengthy trial also saw the judges replaced last fall on the instructions of a review panel, because of an appearance of bias against Wilders. Prosecution and defense alike have argued that Wilders’ statements about Islam constituted protected speech, and that Wilders was not speaking out against Muslims per se, but against what he saw as a growing threat to Dutch society posed by Islamism.

As reported previously for The New American, the trial of Wilders is a test of the willingness of the West to resist the latest onslaught of an Islamic Jihad, which has been waged for over 1,300 years. As Wilders and other courageous individuals have pointed out, the threat to the civilized world is not limited to al-Qaeda or the Muslim Brotherhood; the threat of Islam is based in Islam being a religion of hate. Rev. Elijah Abraham of Living Oasis Ministries spoke with The New American in an interview last year, and among the topics he addressed was his childhood growing up as a Muslim in Iraq: » | James Heisner | Thursday, June 02, 2011

Geert Wilders' Final Remarks at The Amsterdam Trial - English Subtitles

HT: Faith Freedom »

Dutch Ritual Slaughter Ban a Step Closer

EURONEWS: In Holland, a proposal to ban Kosher and Halal slaughter methods has moved a step closer to reality, with a majority of the country’s MPs now supporting the ban.

In order to reduce stress, in the EU animals slaughtered for meat are normally stunned before they are killed. But Kosher and Halal butchery requires the animals to be fully conscious when their throats are cut. » | © Euronews | Friday, April 08, 2011

Taliban drohen Niederlande wegen Wilders mit Terror
WELT ONLINE: Falls die Regierung Forderungen des Islamgegners Wilders umsetze, werde das Land "Ziel einer Dschihadisten-Gruppe", so ein Taliban-Sprecher.

Ein Anführer der afghanischen Taliban hat einem Zeitungsbericht zufolge die Niederlande vor einem Anschlag gewarnt, sollte die neue Regierung Forderungen des Islamgegners Geert Wilders umsetzen. „Wenn die Niederlande ihre Anti-Islam-Politik beibehalten oder intensivieren, werden sie mit Sicherheit das Ziel einer Dschihadisten-Gruppe werden“, zitierte die Tageszeitung „Volkskrant“ Sabjullah Mudschahed, der offizieller Sprecher der Taliban für Ost- und Nordafghanistan sein soll.

Wenn Wilders erfolgreich das niederländische Parlament „so manipuliert, dass es mehr Anti-Islam-Gesetze verabschiedet, gibt es keinen Zweifel, dass Muslime aus anderen Ländern aktiv werden, um ihren muslimischen Brüdern und Schwestern zu helfen“, sagte Mudschahed demnach weiter. >>> AFP/dpa/Reuters/cn | Montag, 18. Oktober, 2010

DAILY TIMES: Taliban warn Dutch against adopting anti-Islam agenda >>> Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Alleged Muslim Victims of Hate Speech by Anti-Islam Politician Plead for His Conviction
THE CANADIAN PRESS: AMSTERDAM — Muslim witnesses said Monday that a Dutch lawmaker's anti-Islamic comments had led to attacks and intimidation, and they pleaded with judges to convict him and give him a symbolic fine of one euro ($1.40).

Geert Wilders is facing charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims for statements that include comparing Islam with Nazism and calling for banning the Qur’an and taxing Muslim scarves, which he calls "head rags." His trial has been seen as testing the limits of free speech.

Prosecutors last week acknowledged they have failed to prove the case against him and called for his acquittal. But the judges may disagree, and their verdict is expected Nov. 5.

"Arson. Attempted arson. Vandalism. Disturbances. Incivility to people attending mosques. Obscenities. Intimidating behaviour — they have all become everyday occurrences" as a result of Wilders' public remarks, said Mohammed Enait, speaking for an alliance of Dutch mosques that had asked to testify as victims in the case.

Wilders denies inciting hatred of Muslims, and says he criticizes Islam because it's an ideology that rejects Western values. He says it is not a crime to state what many Dutch voters believe. >>> Toby Sterling | Monday, October 18, 2010

Inside Story - Europe's Rising Anti-Islam Trend *


* Warning: You might find this discussion an insult to your intelligence!

PC BS from The Economist >>>

Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders On Trial for Inciting Racial Hatred
THE TELEGRAPH: Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-Islam MP who will become a shadow partner in the next Dutch government, has gone on trial accused of inciting racial hatred against Muslims.

Wilders, 47, is charged with five counts of giving religious offence to Muslims and inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims and people of non-Western immigrant origin, particularly Moroccans. Photo: The Telegraph
The controversial politician risks up to a year in jail or a 7,600-euro (£6,600) fine for calling Islam "fascist" and likening the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Wilders, 47, is charged with five counts of giving religious offence to Muslims and inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims and people of non-Western immigrant origin, particularly Moroccans.

In comments made between October 2006 and March 2008 in Dutch newspapers and on internet forums, prosecutors say that Wilders described Islam as "the sick ideology of Allah and Mohammed" and its holy book as "the Mein Kampf of a religion that seeks to eliminate others". >>> | Monday, October 04, 2010

Geert Wilders (right) and Bram Moszkovicz (left), his advocate. The trial judge is Jan Moors. Photograph: The Sydney Morning Herald
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: From kingmaker to racism trial >>> | Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Netherlands to Ban Burka, Says Anti-Islam MP
THE TELEGRAPH: The Netherlands will ban the burka under measures agreed in a pact to form a minority coalition government, according to Geert Wilders, the anti-Islam MP whose party is part of the deal.

In addition to the measures agreed by the three parties, the number of immigrants who enter The Netherlands will be halved, Mr Wilders said as the agreement was announced.

"We want the Islamisation to be stopped," Mr Wilders, who will go on trial in Amsterdam next Monday for inciting hatred against Muslims, said.

Mr Wilders – who campaigns for a ban on Muslim immigration and wants to end the building of new mosques and tax Muslim head scarves – had a say in the plan's immigration policies in return for supporting its austerity measures. >>> | Thursday, September 30, 2010

Wilders On Trial the Entire Month of October
GATES OF VIENNA: The PVV leader Geert Wilders was formally notified on Thursday that the criminal case against him will continue next month. The Amsterdam court continues the process starting on October 4. The verdict is due on November 2.

Wilders must be in court on October 4, 6, 8, 12, 15 and 19. Two weeks later the verdict is planned.

“It’s terrible that I have be in court trial the entire month of October,” Wilders said Thursday after he had received the summoning. “I will stand trial one whole month for freedom of speech.”

Three session days and the day of the verdict are on a day when Parliament assembles. Continue reading and comment >>> Robin van der Kloor, Translation from Elsevier | Sunday, September 12, 2010

The Netherlands Shifts to the Right
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: The right-wing liberal VVD and populist PVV were the big winners of Wednesday's parliamentary election in the Netherlands. Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende was ousted after eight years in power.

After a neck-and-neck contest with the Labour party, the VVD emerged victorious, garnering 31 of 150 seats in parliament, with 98 percent of the votes counted. "It looks like, for the first time in history, the VVD will be the biggest party in the Netherlands," VVD leader Mark Rutte told supporters Thursday morning, when preliminary results showed Labour would be left with 30 seats. The right-wing liberals may have shaken the social democrats, led by former Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen, but never has the biggest party in parliament occupied so few seats, and never was the margin seperating it from the runner-up so slim.

Geert Wilders' PVV won the most in the election. Wilders, who is internationally known for his unequivocal criticism of Islam, went from 9 to 24 seats in parliament. While he ran a muted campaign and polls predicted he would barely double his seats, Wilders proved especially popular in the south-east of the country. His growing following there is part of the reason the Christian democratic party of incumbent prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende was halved at the polls. The CDA lost 20 of its 41 seats and will now be the fourth party in Dutch parliament. >>> News Staff, NRC Handelsblad | Thursday, June 10, 2010

Dutch Election: Liberals Take One-seat Lead as Far-right Party Grows in Influence
THE TELEGRAPH: The Liberals have won a narrow one-seat lead in the Dutch election, putting them in pole position to form a coalition.

Right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders. Photograph: The Telegraph
With 88 per cent of the votes counted, published partial results showed the Liberals with 31 and Labour on 30.

But the real victory went to Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV), which demands an end to immigration from Muslim countries and a ban on new mosques. The PVV took its number of seats from nine in the last parliament to 24, and could hope to enter a coalition government.

The far-right leader with his distinctive shock of fair hair called the result "magnificent".

"The impossible has happened," he told a televised party gathering. "We are the biggest winner today. The Netherlands chose more security, less crime, less immigration and less Islam."

The election ousted Christian Democrat Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende from eight years in office.

The Liberals' narrow lead gives leader Mark Rutte a mandate to form a coalition and become prime minister, but sticking to his austerity policies could prove tough because he needs at least three other parties to secure a parliamentary majority. >>> | Thursday, June 10, 2010

Wilders Hails Israel 'Fighting Jihad'
THE JERUSALEM POST: Dutch "values" party head set to gain seats in current election.

Geert Wilders, who is demanding a halt to immigration from Muslim countries as the centerpiece of his campaign for the Dutch prime ministership, has hailed Israel for “fighting the jihad” and warned that “the West is next” if Israel is unsuccessful.

“Israel is the canary in the coal mine,” Wilders said in a recent telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post, ahead of Wednesday’s elections in the Netherlands. “The jihad against Israel isn’t against Israel only. It’s against the whole West.”

A year ago, Wilders’s PVV (Party for Freedom) was scoring 28 percent in opinion polls and appeared to have a realistic prospect of winning the elections. It has declined since then, however, he said, as economic issues have become increasingly dominant.

“There’s not a big chance that I’ll become prime minister,” he said.

Nonetheless, the PVV is expected to double its current nine seats in the 150-member parliament, and front-runner Mark Rutte, of the People’s Party for Freedom of Democracy (VVD), said this week that he was not ruling out Wilders’s party as a coalition partner.

Wilders, who is Catholic, has faced a barrage of criticism, legal action and death threats for expressing trenchant criticism of Islam, and lives amid constant security precautions. He told the Post that while he believes “there are moderate Muslims,” and that many Muslims living in the West are moderate, law-abiding people, “I don’t believe there is a moderate Islam.”

He described Islam as “a totalitarian ideology – against freedom, and the rule of law, and the separation of church and state.”

He said the influx of Muslims into countries such as Holland was causing “the Islamification of our societies.” In the wake of his 2008 film Fitna, he noted, he was “taken to a criminal court in the Netherlands for things I said about Islam” and had to wage a legal battle last year to enter Britain after first being barred.

“Freedom of speech is under attack,” he said. “It wouldn’t have happened if I had criticized Catholicism.” Wilders said Holland’s Muslim population had grown to about one million (out of the 16 million national populace), and that “tens of thousands are still arriving each year, from Somalia, Iraq, Morocco, Turkey” and beyond. In other European countries, the percentage of Muslims was much higher, he said. The influx “is bringing enormous changes,” he said, speaking about women and homosexuals being harassed in the streets in some Muslim neighborhoods and the rise of Shari’a courts. >>> David Horovitz | Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Geert Wilders, the Ultra-right Firebrand, Campaigns to Be Holland's Prime Minister
THE OBSERVER: Radical anti-Islamic politics are under the microscope as a hero of the far right tries to capitalise on cultural divisions

In the street market outside Almere's glass-fronted Stadhuis – the council offices – stalls are selling clothes and toys, typical Dutch sausages and cuts of glistening ham. At another stall, occasional shoppers inspect piles of Islamic headscarves and ankle-length gowns. But if many of the councillors in the Stadhuis have their way, that stall will not be doing a roaring trade for much longer.

The party that won most seats in the municipal elections in Almere earlier this year – although it failed to form a governing coalition – would like to ban the wearing of headscarves in public buildings such as the Stadhuis, as well as banning the construction of new mosques. That party is the far-right Freedom Party (PVV), of Geert Wilders, the populist firebrand behind the anti-Islamic film Fitna, who has accused Muslims of trying to "colonise" his country.

Three months ago, almost a quarter of Almere's voters backed the PVV and Wilders was being tipped as a possible prime minister in forthcoming elections on 9 June. "Today Almere and The Hague," said Wilders –"tomorrow the whole of the Netherlands. This is our springboard for success."

His poll fortunes may have diminished somewhat since then, as the country's mainstream parties have toughened up their own acts on immigration. But the blond-mulleted Islamophobe may yet be credited with transforming how Holland does its politics. >>> Peter Beaumont, Almere | Sunday, May 16, 2010



Related articles and videos here and here

Come hither, ya habibati! O hibbuki! Photo: Google Images
Sharia-compliant, Halal Sexual Fantasies! Online Sex Shop a Hit with Muslims
THE TELEGRAPH: An online sex shop for Muslims has been launched in the Netherlands to tap into a demand for erotica that does not offend Sharia law.

"We had about 70,000 hits in the first four days," Abdelaziz Aouragh, the founder of El Asira, said. The site went online last week and claims to be the world's first erotic webshop for Muslims.

The 29-year-old Dutch national said it targets married Muslim couples as an alternative to sites "that focus on pornography and the extravagant side of erotica" - things forbidden in Islam.

The home page of El Asira, which means "Society" in Arabic, is a sober black and grey street with a line down the centre, inviting women to enter on the left and men on the right.

Once inside, clients can browse in Dutch, Arabic or English through more than a dozen products, mainly massage oils, lubricants and tablets that claim to act as aphrodisiacs.

All ingredients are halal, or "permissible under Islam", said Mr Aouragh, and conspicuously absent is any type of pornography. >>> | Wednesday, March 31, 2010

El Asira’s First Muslim Halal Online Sex Shop
AFRIK.COM: Abdelaziz Aouragh, a 29-year old Dutch-Moroccan and a practicing Muslim, has launched El Asira, a rather unlikely, if not daring, enterprise in the Netherlands. It is the first halal "sex shop". The question is whether the concept, which is raising many eye brows, will be accepted by an increasing skeptical niche market.

Sensual stimulants, organic lubricating gels, pure power capsules for men or women ... El Asira, the first halal sex shop made in the Netherlands has opened its doors. Solely available on the Internet, the shop was inaugurated March 24 by Abdelaziz Aouragh, a 29-year old Dutch-Moroccan Muslim.

Halal? Really? Yes, says the young entrepreneur. "There is even a fatwa (religious decree, editor’s note) on the subject," he says. The fatwa was given after he contacted a local imam who in turn consulted with a Saudi Sheikh who gave his blessing, provided that the products are used, strictly, within the context of marriage.

The product range is diverse, from "Lovpil" capsules, to fight against everyday stress that "may affect sexual energy and pleasure", to "Gel Max", a lubricating gel that promises greater "sexual performance". Jewelry and lingerie will soon be added to their range of products. >>> Shahinez Benabed | Tuesday, March 30, 2010

New Sex Shop is a Sensation Among Muslims: Despite Their Conservative Views, Muslims Flock to Sex Shop Website
abcNEWS/INTERNATIONAL: The mere mention of sex in Egypt's relatively conservative society is forbidden or ''haram,'' the word used when something is deemed un-Islamic, or considered to be unholy. Even trying to conduct a search online with the word ''sex'' in the title leads you to a dead end stating, ''This URL or Page has been blocked.''

So how would Egyptians react to a new website selling erotic aids aimed at Muslims? Set up in the Netherlands the site has become an worldwide hit with 70,000 visits and counting in its first week of going live.

The website, ''El Asira,'' which means ''society'' in Arabic, was launched by Abdelaziz Aouragh, a Moroccan Muslim living in Amsterdam along with his business partner Stefan Delsink. Aouragh told AFP that "everybody is talking about Islam in a negative way," adding that "I am trying to get something positive out of the dark."

The online shop boasts products such as sensual stimulators for him and her and lubricants based on cocoa butter, water or silicon, all of which are ingredients that are ''halal," permissible or lawful in Islam.

"I knew that Muslims do have a need for sex products." Aouragh said. >>> Lama Hasan | Undated

Related:

NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: Online Islamic Sex-shop Opens for Business >>> Hanina Ajarai and Joke Mat | Friday, March 19, 2010

Online Islamic Sex-shop Opens for Business
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: The sex products Dutch Muslims used to bring back from the Middle East are now available online.

Abdelaziz Aouragh is a Muslim, lives in Amsterdam, and deals in sex articles. His webshop El Asira, which is for Muslims, will soon be selling Pure Power capsules which "heighten male performance, desire and pleasure", Desire capsules for women, sensual stimulators for him and her and lubricants based on cocoa butter, water or silicon. El Asira calls itself "the first Islamic online webshop for sex articles and care products". Its webshop should be open for business starting this weekend.

The combination of Islam and sex products is not an obvious one. When Aouragh's business partner Stefan Delsink suggested selling sex items, Aouragh was dubious. A day later he agreed. "I knew that Muslims do have a need for sex products. People bring them back from the Middle East and give them to young couples," he said.

Not knowing whether his religion would allow the trade in sex products, Aouragh visited an imam, who in turn consulted a Saudi sheik. It was allowed, he learned, as long as the products are halal and are meant to improve sex within marriage. "There is even a fatwa on the subject." That just left the problem of how to tell his parents. "It's a forbidden subject for the first generation here,” he said. Whenever his parents bring the matter up, Aouragh tries to quickly change the subject. “I tell them: yes, um, could I have some more tea?”

Abdelaziz Aouragh (29) is an orthodox Muslim with a Dutch trading instinct. He was born in the east of Amsterdam to a Moroccan carpenter. He has a pointed nose, a tuft of hair on his chin and thin oval glasses. He works at Schiphol airport assisting disabled transit passengers. His wife was born in Morocco and they have a three-year-old daughter. Last year they went on their first hadj, a pilgrimage to Mecca. Changing the image of Islam >>> Hanina Ajarai and Joke Mat | Friday, March 19, 2010

Poppycock from The Times in the Best Neville Chamberlain Tradition! Blond bombshell Geert Wilders Returns to Britain, Looking for a Fight
Geert Wilders. Photo: Times Online
My oh my, Geert Wilders really does seem to have got you rattled, Mr Macintyre.

But let’s get some facts straight. Geert Wilders is not “far-right” just because he states truths that you, Mr Macintyre, don’t want to hear. This is clearly a case of shooting the messenger, and one of trying to shoot him down with ad hominem attacks. Geert Wilders is merely pointing out the dangers of the growth of Islam in his country. The Channel 4 documentary, Dispatches, entitled 'Britain's Islamic Republic', testifies to the validity of what Mr Wilders says.

In a free society, we should be allowed to hear and say things which may not be popular. It’s called ‘free speech’, remember? It’s what our ancestors died for.

So if Muslims don’t want to hear what Mr Wilders has to say, then it’s just too bad. We so-called infidels don’t want to hear half the nonsense and abuse that Muslims come out with either, but nobody has the courage to shut them up. By the way, Mr Macintyre, it’s Muslims who are trying to kill us, not the other way round. Your logic seems to be warped and twisted. – © Mark

TIMES ONLINE: Boyish, topped with a bouffant mane of bleached blond hair, cheerful and cherubic, Geert Wilders is the unlikely new face of the far Right in Europe. But appearances are deceptive. The leader of the Dutch anti-immigration Freedom Party has emerged as one of the most divisive politicians in Europe, the purveyor of a virulent brand of anti-Islamic rhetoric that calls for a tax on Islamic headscarves and a ban on the Koran, which he likens to Mein Kampf.

Mr Wilders is facing trial in a Dutch court for “inciting hatred”. Last year he was banned from Britain and turned away at Heathrow when he arrived here planning to show his short film, an incendiary anti-Islamic diatribe that the Dutch Prime Minister described as serving “no purpose other than to offend”.

On Friday, after successfully appealing against the Home Office ban, Mr Wilders will return to Britain at the invitation of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) to show his controversial film to an invited audience at the House of Lords. The English Defence League is expected to demonstrate in his support and Muslim groups are all but certain to mount protests.

To his enemies, the 46-year-old Dutchman is an old-fashioned racist demagogue in a new suit; a bottle-blond bigot. To his growing ranks of supporters he is a champion of free speech, a bulwark against what he calls “the Islamic invasion of Holland”. He may be dismissed by some as a crank but he is an increasingly powerful and popular one. On February 20 the Dutch centrist coalition Government collapsed, deeply divided over keeping troops in Afghanistan, paving the way for a general election in June in which the Freedom Party is expected to do extremely well. Polls suggest that the party will triple its tally of seats, becoming at least the second-biggest parliamentary party and quite possibly the overall winner. Mr Wilders is likely to be a key player in any coalition, with a profound impact on the political agenda. >>> Ben Macintyre | Wednesday, March 03, 2010