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Furore over Cartoonist Arrested for Discrimination |
| Monday, May 19, 2008 |
Furore over Cartoonist Arrested for Discrimination
AMSTERDAM, 17/05/08 - Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin has attracted sharp criticism from a large part of the Lower House following the surprise arrest of cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot. He is facing charges of discrimination.
The arrest took place last Tuesday. The well-known stand-up comedian Hans Teeuwen, a friend of Nekschot, said on TV programme Pauw en Witteman that around 10 police dragged the cartoonist out of his home in Amsterdam in a brutal manner. His computer and telephone were seized, according to a furious Teeuwen.
The Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) in Amsterdam confirmed that Nekschot ('Neck Shot') was arrested for the publication of cartoons that are discriminatory against Muslims and people of darker skin. The cartoonist was held for about a day and a half and interrogated twice. The OM still has to decide whether he will actually be prosecuted.
The arrest is particularly remarkable because it follows a complaint dating from 2005. Three years later, there was suddenly reason to take Nekschot by surprise in his home, said Teeuwen with incomprehension.
Hirsch Ballin said Friday the arrest was only now carried out because Nekschot's identity was not known to the OM before. According to Geenstijl.nl website, this is nonsense because internet providers must provide the details of operators of websites they host if the OM asks for this as part of a criminal investigation.
The OM did not bother to make such a request before, but Hirsch Ballin apparently now wants headlines such as 'Cartoonist Arrested in The Netherlands' to be send into the world to improve tense relations with Arab countries, Geenstijl suggested.
Centre-left D66 MP Boris van der Ham has requested Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin for clarification. The arrest raises "many questions about freedom of speech," according to Van der Ham.
Socialist Party (SP) MP Jan de Wit also finds it very strange that the cartoonist was "arrested in his bed for a cartoon from 2005." Freedom of expression "means that people must be able to draw and say whatever they want." The conservatives (VVD) were also very critical.
The government parties did not want to use hard words. Labour (PvdA) MP Ton Heerts did say that "prosecuting a cartoonist is going pretty far." But the Christian democrats (CDA) and ChristenUnie said the OM probably has good reasons for its way of operating.
Cartoonists, comics and columnists have more freedom of expression than other citizens, according to jurisprudence. This is due to the form - artistic or satirical - they choose for their argument.
Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders is accusing the OM in Amsterdam, which gave the police the order for the arrest, of "dictatorial tendencies." Wilders said Friday he cannot remember a cartoonist ever being arrested anywhere in the West. He wants to call Hirsch Ballin to account Tuesday during the weekly question hour in the Lower House.
The arrest followed an investigation of the work of Nekschot, after a complaint was made against him in 2005 by Abdul Jabbar van de Ven. This Dutch convert to Islam calls himself an Imam. After the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, he said on TV he would thank Allah if he could arrange for Geert Wilders to die, "for example of cancer".
Jabbar van de Ven made the complaint to the National Discrimination Expertise Centre (LECD). This complaint was passed on to the OM. According to Geenstijl.nl, Paul Velleman, the prosecutor who gave the order for the cartoonist's arrest, is also the head of the LECD.
Gregorius Nekschot publishes mainly on the Internet, but also produced a book titled 'Nekschot: Sick jokes.' Theo van Gogh, assassinated by a Muslim terrorist in 2004, gave space on his website to the work of Nekschot.
According to Teeuwen, the cartoonist was intimidated by one of the officers during his arrest, who apparently said that his real surname would be made public. "A pretty intimidating remark." Precisely because of the threat of radical Muslims, Nekschot is very cautious about who he gives his real name to, said Teeuwen.
Prosecutor Paul Velleman is also leading the OM team that is investigating whether Wilders should be prosecuted for discrimination, according to Geenstijl.nl. In 2005, Velleman decided that the radical E Tawheed mosque in Amsterdam could not be prosecuted for selling books in which calls were made for throwing homosexuals from apartment buildings head-first.
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Cartoonist arrested for discrimination |
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MPs from across the political spectrum have urged justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin to explain the arrest of a cartoonist on discrimination charges.
The cartoonist, who operates under the pseudonym Gregorius Nekschot, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of publishing work which discriminates against Muslims and 'people with dark skins'. The arrest follows a complaint made against Nekschot in 2005.
In a short statement, Hirsch Ballin said there was no question of there being limits placed on the right to free speech in the Netherlands.
Nekschot, an established cartoonist whose work features in magazine HP/De Tijd amongst others, was released after spending Tuesday night in custody. His house was searched and a quantity of work taken away.
In a statement, the public prosecution department said cartoonists are by nature satirical and often insulting to others. However, Nekschot's work broke the boundaries of freedom of expression and artistic licence, the department said.
'We are raising this affair at the highest level,' Labour MP Ton Heerts told news agency ANP. 'Taking legal action against a cartoonist goes too far.'
Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration party PVV, accused the public prosecution department of have dictatorial tendencies. The arrest of the cartoonist is 'outrageous and tasteless,' Wilders said.
The public prosecution department is currently investigating a number of formal complaints against Wilders, who describes Islam as a backward and violent religion.
*DutchNews.nl |
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Danish press freedom group invites anti-Quran filmmaker from the Netherlands |
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark: A Danish press freedom group said Sunday it has invited a Dutch lawmaker to talk about an anti-Quran film he made that sparked angry street protests in Muslim countries earlier this year.
Geert Wilders will appear in Copenhagen on June 1 to talk about the movie and share his thoughts on free speech, said The Free Press Society of 2004.
Lars Hedegaard, president of the society, said the invitation to Wilders should not be viewed as a provocation against the Muslim world, but rather as a way to address the debate on the right to speak freely.
"He has been badmouthed and persecuted by almost everyone in Europe," Hedegaard said of the right-wing lawmaker. "He has not committed a crime as far as I know. He has simply voiced his opinion."
Denmark found itself at the center of a similar controversy after a Danish newspaper published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that ignited protests by Muslims around the globe in 2006.
That episode was also seized upon by free-speech advocates. Danish newspapers republished the drawings, saying they wanted to demonstrate their support for free speech after police revealed a plot to kill one of the artists.
"The more threats we receive, the greater our duty to continue to speak freely," Hedegaard said.
Wilders' film "Fitna," which appeared on the Internet on March 27, linked terror attacks by Muslim extremists to texts from the Quran, Islam's holy book.
The Netherlands responded to security concerns after the film's release by closing its embassy's offices in Afghanistan's capital and moving embassy personnel in Pakistan. The film set off protests in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia and led to calls in other countries for a boycott of Dutch goods.
The Dutch government has said it disagrees with the tone of the film, but says Wilders has a constitutional right to air his views. The U.N. secretary-general and U.N. agencies have condemned the film. EU foreign ministers have also rejected Wilders' views.
iht.com |
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Dutch critic of Islam warns Bush |
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By LEANDER SCHAERLAECKENS
UPI Correspondent
BRUSSELS, May 19 (UPI) -- As President George W. Bush wraps up his trip to the Middle East, controversial Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, a passionate supporter of Bush and the U.S. war on terrorism, called on him to drop his "double agenda" in the region by ending support to Islamic states like Saudi Arabia.
Wilders, who briefly achieved global notoriety when he released his anti-Koran film "Fitna" in March, told United Press International that the United States should not overlook Saudi Arabia's flagrant bad governance and human-rights abuses.
"American relations with Saudi Arabia should be revised," he said, adding that Saudi Arabia's status as a major oil producer should not mean that its track record ought to be overlooked. "Saudi Arabia is no good and won't be for the foreseeable future," he said.
"I think supporting Saudi Arabia is a bad policy and shows a double agenda," said Wilders. But he demurred at the suggestion of sanctions or military action -- "it's not like they should invade tomorrow" -- suggesting only that the desert kingdom be subject to the same standards as other U.S. allies like Israel.
The parliamentarian recently returned from a trip to the United States and said he was surprised to find his anti-Islam agenda had so much resonance there.
Wilders heads a small anti-immigration party in the Dutch Parliament and lives under 24-hour police protection because of death threats resulting from his public comments about Islam and the Koran, which he has compared to Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and says should be banned in the Netherlands.
Echoing the comments of some U.S. neoconservatives, Wilders has said he regards the spread of radical Islam as the next great challenge to the West, after fascism and communism.
"I think Islamization presents a threat to the public safety of the entire West, including the United States," he told UPI. "Direct and indirect dangers are present in (Muslim) politics and culture."
He said the shared enemy demanded closer trans-Atlantic ties.
"Islam's growth is the greatest threat of this century and we need to interact more on how we (the United States and the European Union) will protect traditional Christian and Jewish (territory)," Wilders said. "I see America as an ally in that fight."
He lambasted cultural relativism and said Islam was incompatible with democracy and Western values. "We shouldn't pretend that all cultures are equal and let equality rule. We've witnessed attacks on America and Europe, so we're all in danger."
Wilders, who describes himself as a Reaganite and is a longtime supporter of the GOP, endorsed John McCain for the presidency.
"If I were an American, I'd choose the Republicans again. ... McCain is the only candidate, and there are a lot of positive, and also some less positive, things to be said about him," he said.
But he fretted that complacency had set in, both in Europe and America. "We mustn't forget that sense of urgency that followed Sept. 11," he urged.
"Keep an eye on Islamization in America," Wilders advised the next president. "The people that I spoke to in America were concerned that there's no urgency surrounding (the issue of) Islamization."
He also counseled the United States against promoting Turkish accession to the European Union, which he opposes because of Turkey's "Islamic values."
"I'm not sure it's smart," Wilders said. "I don't know how the United States would react if we'd say that Mexico or Cuba, or any other country with whom relations are difficult, should become the 51st state.
"America thinks from a NATO point of view where Turkey is an appreciated ally. But relations between Turkey and its neighbors are bad, and I think that if Turkey joined the EU, the regional situation would only destabilize further."
He added that Turkey needs to learn to cohabit with its neighbors politically and economically and should remain a NATO member and cooperate with the EU, but without ever joining it.
"The EU is about sharing certain values, and Islamic values are simply not compatible," Wilders said. "And I wouldn't want Iran and Syria to border on the EU. The United States wouldn't want that either, but that's what would happen (if Turkey joins)."
"I'm not in favor of excommunicating Turkey and am in favor of good relations, but just because they're good neighbors doesn't make them family," he said. "It would only lead to trouble culturally."
He also argued that EU membership would create problems in Turkey by ruling out "a positive political role" for the military as a "counterbalance" to any moves to undermine the secular character of the state there.
"If (Turkey) were to join the EU, certain treaties would require it to extract the army from politics, and that would remove the counterbalance" to any efforts at Islamization.
The result, he said, would be disastrous. "Then we'd have an Islamized state within the EU."
"It's a bad suggestion and not in Europe's security interest," Wilders added of Turkish accession.
Despite his differences over the Turkey issue, Wilders, who sits on the Dutch parliamentary committees for defense, information and security services and foreign affairs, as well as the delegation to the NATO Assembly, said he'd keep advocating close American ties. "I'm an Atlanticist," he said.
"I relish close trans-Atlantic relations and an expansion of military ties, but sadly the reality is that the United States has become less popular." He said that advocating close trans-Atlantic ties, "like friendship with Israel, doesn't make you more popular as a European politician."
"American foreign policy hasn't exactly become more popular, alas," Wilders added.
upi.com |
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Terrorist fear exposes Dutch intolerance |
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The Netherlands is widely known for its image of tolerance. Many tourists travel to the capital city, Amsterdam, keen to experience life among people with a famously relaxed attitude towards marijuana, prostitution, euthanasia, abortion and same-sex marriage.
In reality, the popular perception of the Netherlands as a tolerant country is only a half-truth. Legalising controversial issues is emblematic of the Dutch view that what cannot be prevented, may as well be made legal and regulated to maintain order and safety. It is a combination of deep pragmatism and tolerance.
With this in mind, it is easier to understand how beliefs such as Geert Wilders' (pictured) have come to exist within the Netherlands. Wilders made world headlines, and commanded considerable Dutch attention, with the release of his film, Fitna. The ten-minute film juxtaposes verses of the Koran with images of Islamic violence from all over the world. Fitna urges Dutch citizens to defend their freedom and stop the penetration of Islam.
Although Wilders claims to be interested in warning the Dutch people of the dangers that their Muslim compatriots pose, these dangers are limited. There has only been a single act of Islamic terrorism in the Netherlands — the murder of film director Theo Van Gogh in 2004.
Yet a Europe-wide poll shows the Dutch have a higher perception of terrorist threat than most of their European neighbours. Fundamental to this is a belief that Muslims intend to force a foreign system upon the Netherlands — that a menacing Islamic way of life will encroach upon the traditional values and hallmarks of Dutch identity.
This sentiment is indicative of a system that has failed to understand and accept its Muslim population.
It results from an historical failure. When immigrants began arriving in the Netherlands in the 1960s, from Morocco, Turkey and other countries, they came as guest-workers and in response to an active invitation by the Dutch government. At the time, political thinking concluded that since these foreigners would not take up permanent residence in the Netherlands, there was no need to nurture their Dutch identity.
In fact, it was seen as a righteous thing to allow guest-workers to maintain their own customs and beliefs; this was, after all, the Dutch way.
As the situation changed and immigrants became residents, the government was slow to recognise the need for formal integration and has been playing catch-up ever since. The children of the original guest-workers are now second and third generation Dutch citizens who are torn between two cultures. These one million Dutch-Muslims, in a country of 16 million, are living largely in isolation from the mainstream culture.
This isolation of communities has historical resonance in the Netherlands. 'Pillarisation' referred to a time when the major religions were effectively segregated from each other. You either belonged to a branch of Protestantism, to the Catholic Church or you were secular.
From birth to death, the Dutch were cocooned in a world of their own — if you were born in a Catholic hospital, you went to a Catholic school, listened to Catholic radio, married a Catholic, and were buried in a Catholic cemetery.
This crucial period in the formation of the modern Dutch nation lasted until the 1960s, when rising secularisation brought the pillars down. It seems this phenomenon has been replaced by a new division along cultural lines.
In a speech late last year calling for the Koran to be banned, Wilders proclaimed that 'a moderate Islam does not exist'. While his statement was rejected by three quarters of Dutch citizens, the same poll illustrated steady growth in support for Wilders' controversial Freedom Party. A further 70 per cent of citizens feel political parties do not discuss Islam often enough and 65 per cent are pessimistic about integrating Islam in the Netherlands.
Most Dutch rarely mix with the Islamic population, begrudgingly tolerating their existence. This is a negative and regressive form of tolerance that harks back to the days of pillarisation.
There is a schism within the nation that can only be reversed if it is recognised that tolerance in the Netherlands has become a burden. The foundations of the myths that form Dutch identity are ungrounded. This needs to be acknowledged.
Positive forms of coexistence should be pursued on the basis of what the Dutch and their Muslim compatriots have in common, not that which separates them. Wilders' frustrations and fears have unearthed a discussion that the Dutch people need to have.
eurekastreet.com |
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Wilders Looks for European Allies, Suggests Reuniting Flanders and Netherlands |
| Thursday, May 15, 2008 |
Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party PVV and the maker of Fitna, a controversial movie about the Koran, is back in the Netherlands after a two-week vacation in Las Vegas. In an interview published today in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, the largest newspaper in the Netherlands, Wilders said that his party will stand for election in the 2009 European elections and must consider allying itself with like-minded European parties. He also called for a reunification of Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Wilders went to Vegas, but not to gamble. The 44-year old politician told De Telegraaf he only spent 10 dollars in a casino. He asked the local police if he could join them on their patrols, and he did. Wilders is very impressed by the LVPD. Apparently, the feeling was reciprocal. The policemen had seen Fitna and liked it a lot. They told Wilders: “You should run for president here!”
The politician said he is happy with the way Fitna was received in the Netherlands. “I do not seek controversy, I want to foster debate. […] Nor was I looking for electoral gain. I knew the movie would lead to a lot of personal and political misery. But I have a mission! I felt I had to do this. […] A politician must lead. We are the most critical voice on immigration, Islam and integration issues [in the Netherlands}, we defend the average Dutchman.”
He told the paper that multiculturalism does not work. He referred to neighbouring Belgium as an example. Belgium is a country made up of 6 million Dutch-speaking Flemings in Flanders, the northern half of the country, and 4 million French-speaking Walloons in Wallonia, the southern half. Belgium was part of the Netherlands until 1830, when a revolution instigated by Walloons and French agents tore the country apart. The revolutionaries occupied Flanders, too. The Flemings have always been second-class citizens in Belgium and are still politically underrepresented. The current Belgian government has more French-speaking members of cabinet than Flemish. Wilders said he is in favour of reuniting Flanders and the Netherlands.
“Belgium has been in crisis for months,” Wilders said. “They have a government now but another crisis has erupted. It is a shambles. […] I would be very much in favour of trying to find out how Flanders and the Netherlands could merge. […] The momentum is there. […] We have more in common with the Flemings than the Flemings with the Walloons. It would only be logical to unite Flanders and the Netherlands. We have to put this before the Flemings and the Dutch in a referendum. I hope that [Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter] Balkenende will seriously consider this.”
Wilders emphasized that he has no contacts with the Vlaams Belang, the major party in the Flemish regional parliament. The VB wants to dissolve Belgium and establish an independent Flemish Republic, though some of its members favour reunification with the Netherlands. The VB is also the most outspoken anti-Islamisation party in Belgium.
“I have no contacts with Vlaams Belang,” Wilders said. “I have no contacts with foreign parties whatsoever. But we will have to establish them with regard to the European elections next year. […] We are trying to decide which European group to join. This is not an easy exercise. However, we want to have nothing to do with the Mussolinis and Le Pen and others like them.”
Wilders is opposed to the project of establishing the European Union as a super state. He said his party wants to stand for the European elections in order to help abolish the European Parliament from within.
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Wilders scraps Muslim debate |
| Sunday, May 11, 2008 |
Anti-immigration MP Geert Wilders has cancelled a debate on the ‘islamisation of the Netherlands’ because not enough Muslims have registered to take part.
In total, 175 people signed up for the debate in Waddinkxveen, scheduled to take place in the wake of his anti-Koran film Fitna.
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Woman who Threatened Wilders on Trial |
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A 34-year old woman has been brought to trial in the appeals court in Den Bosch. She had been condemned last year in the lower court to one year in jail and then hospitalization in a mental institution, for sending over 100 e-mails to Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), threatening to kill him. In court she apologized and shook hands with Wilders, who had been called as a witness. Wilders said that he visits the police offices at least once a week to sign complaints about various threats. This year he has already received over 50.
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Women suicide bombers |
| Tuesday, May 6, 2008 |
They are Palestinian mothers, sisters, and daughters. And they're behind bars for trying to kill Israelis, by helping with or attempting suicide bombings.
Director Natalie Assouline, herself a Jewish Israeli, wanted to know what made these woman take such drastic action. So she spent two years filming and talking with women behind the bars of Sharon prison, where the inmates have built a community for themselves.
What she found was a group of women torn between duty to their families and to the political organizations they are involved with. They are featured in her documentary film "Shahida - Brides of Allah."
Women suicide bombers
For instance, we meet Kahira, a 30-year-old mother of four who will be in prison for the rest of her life for driving and advising a suicide bomber who killed 3 and injured 80.
And then there's Waffa, who is only 24. She was on her way to blow up a hospital when she was stopped at a checkpoint, and she remains disappointed that she failed in her mission. She tells Assouline, "Ever since I was little I dreamed of being a suicide bomber." Such answers seem frank and open, but many times, says Assouline, the women could not or did not speak honestly, but said what they would be expected to say out of a sense of responsibility to the cause.
"People believe that if they will play along, they will gain life in heaven. They will fulfill all their dreams when they have this sweet death - this Shahada. And their families will get respect. The daughter will get a better marriage if the familie is respected. So there are a lot of little things that combine to one whole picture and reality of the person's life."
Bridges between women
Though relations between Assouline and her interviewees were not always completely open, the director does feel her project has built a sort of bridge with the women, many of whom had never met a Jew or an Israeli other than soldiers on patrol. Some people in Israel have criticized Assouline for making this film. They asked her why she wanted to give these violent people a voice. Her reply? "These are the people we need to make peace with. Let's meet these people."
radionetherlands.nl |
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Anti-blasphemy rally demands economic boycott of European states |
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Karachi
Leaders of various religious organisations have demanded complete economic boycott of those European countries whose governments had been patronising their people and media organisations involved in the brazen and recurring acts of blasphemy.
They were speaking at a rally held on Saturday to uphold the sanctity and honour of the last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The rally was organised by the Tahafuz-e-Namoos Risalat (PBUH) Committee and the participants marched from Numaish roundabout to Tibet Centre.
It was largely attended by the leaders and followers of Ahl-e-Sunnat organizations.
The rally demanded of the newly formed government to immediately implement the recently tabled resolution in National Assembly against the insulting caricatures and other blasphemous activities of various European countries.
The leaders also lamented the indifference of United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and Arab League towards the issue of re-printing of blasphemous caricatures by a section of European press.
Speaking to the rally participants, central Amir of Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunnat Prof Syed Mazhar Saeed Kazmi congratulated the people of Karachi for their overwhelming participation in the rally to uphold the sanctity of the last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and announced that the party would observe 2008 as the year of Tahafuz-e-Namoos Risalat (PBUH).
He said that the Ahl-e-Sunnat organisations would soon launch a campaign by holding rallies, demonstrations and seminars across the country to denounce anti-Islam and anti-Qura’an activities of certain European countries.
Central Nazim-e-Aala of Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunnat Syed Riaz Hussain Shah said that the countries and governments, which had been patronising and protecting the people and organisations committing blasphemous acts, were in fact the brazen terrorists of the present day world.
Syed Mazhar said that the OIC should streamline the Ummah to combat anti-Islam activities and policies brazenly adopted by the western world as well as challenging the economic supremacy and might of European nations having serious grudge against the Muslims.
He said that the followers of Islam and last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) around the world would continue protesting unabated till the states, peoples and organisations committing blasphemous acts were taken to task.
Leader of Markazi Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan Sahibzada Fazl Karim MNA urged the leadership of OIC and Arab League to use their oil reserves as a weapon against the so-called civilized countries whose media and legislators had no regard for the sentiments of millions of Muslims around the world.
He demanded of the newly formed government to immediately act upon the National Assembly’s resolution against blasphemous acts by European nations or else be ready to face the protest of the people to this effect.
Haji Muhammad Hanif Tayyab said that the rulers of Muslim countries should gain courage and strength to give a befitting and stern diplomatic response against the recurring acts of blasphemy by the European media.
Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain, a renowned television personality associated with the Geo Television, condemned the posting of an American army official as the military attachÈ to the US Embassy in Islamabad who had been accused of ordering the desecration of Holy Qur’an at the Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) and Abu Ghuraib (Iraq) prisons.
.thenews.com.pk |
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Indonesia: Islam film by Dutch MP 'mistaken interpretation' says expert |
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Jakarta, 5 May(AKI) - An Indonesian expert on the Koran has released a book attacking Fitna, the controversial film by Dutch MP Geert Wilders that challenges Islamic teaching.
Quraish Shibab released the book entitled "The verses of Fitna, a small part of Islamic culture in the middle of prejudice" on Sunday.
He said the Dutch film was based on a number of errors and a misinterpretation of Islamic teaching.
"The film of Geert Wilders, Fitna, is a collection of mistaken koranic interpretations."
In 90 pages, Quraish Shibab claims that Wilders has used quotes out of context to give weight to the film's argument that equates Islam and terrorism.
The book, distributed free of charge in several mosques in the capital and available on the Internet, adopts a calm tone and calls on Muslims "to respond to Fitna in a decisive way but avoiding any behaviour that is harmful to Islam or Muslims".
Indonesia, the country with the largest number of Muslims in the world, has recorded the greatest interest in the film Fitna, according to Google Trends, an online tool which monitors Internet traffic.
Fitna has received a moderate response in Indonesia where almost 90 percent of the country's 240 million people is Muslim.
There have been several protests in front of the Dutch embassy in Jakarta, and in one violent reaction to the film students damaged the Dutch consulate in Medan.
adnkronos.com |
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Czech Muslim community screen controversial Dutch film |
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A controversial documentary by Dutch far-right MP Geert Wilders, which this year sparked protests across the Muslim world, has been screened for the first time in the Czech Republic. Monday’s screening of the film Fitna in Brno was organized, perhaps surprisingly, by the Czech Muslim community, which is mainly centred in the Moravian capital.
Fitna means Ordeal or Strife in Arabic, and the film shows verses of the Koran interspersed with footage of atrocities such as the 9/11 attacks on the US and the London and Madrid bombings. So why did the Brno Islamic Foundation hold a public screening on Monday night? Munib Hassan Alrawi is the organisation’s head.
“First of all we wanted to show that Muslims are ready to accept criticism and they are open to any kind of discussion. Second, we wanted to point out the film is biased and challenge the arguments presented in the film. We also wanted to make it clear whether we agree with what some the Muslims in the film are saying.”
Around 30 people attended Monday’s screening of Fitna, which was followed by a debate. But the controversial Dutch picture was not the only film presented. The Islamic Foundation also decided to screen another documentary, which was made in response to Fitna:
CTK“We also screened a film called Schism, which was made in reaction to this film. It was made by a Muslim and it is structured in the same way as Fitna: it takes extracts from the Bible and links them to the killings of Iraqi people by Western soldiers. The author of Schism openly admits at the end of his film that this is not the right thing to do. So we condemn Fitna and we also condemn any kind of links between Christianity and violence.”
A few weeks ago the small far-right group the National Party plastered the city of Brno with posters based on one of the Danish cartoons which led to a storm of controversy when they were published in 2005. The Muslim community in Brno chose not to respond in any way at that time. However, in the case of Fitna they decided to take a different approach:
“There are groups of people in the Czech Republic who would like to use the film in order to present their anti-Muslim views. So we decided to screen it first to prevent any possible conflicts in the future.”
The Czech Muslim community plans to organise further screenings in other cities, such as Prague and Olomouc. Open screenings are also planned by the National Party, which has already made Fitna accessible on its website. |
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Pakistanis protest Dutch anti-Koran film |
| Saturday, May 3, 2008 |
KARACHI (AFP) — Thousands of Islamists rallied in southern Pakistan Saturday to condemn an anti-Koran film by a Dutch lawmaker and cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in Danish newspapers, witnesses said.
About 4,000 supporters of a conservative Islamic movement marched in the southern port city of Karachi demanding that Islamabad cut diplomatic ties with Denmark and The Netherlands.
"We are ready to lay our lives to protect the honour of our great prophet," the emotional crowd shouted as speakers demanded the government snap ties with the two European nations.
The 17-minute film, "Fitna," by far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, features imagery of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and the 2004 Madrid bombings combined with quotes from the Koran, Islam's holy book.
It has provoked a series of protests in Pakistan that remain peaceful.
"We put the government on one-month notice to expel these envoys and recall our ambassadors from the two countries, otherwise we will ask our followers to march on the capital Islamabad," movement leader Hanif Tayyub said.
He said he would also urge followers across Western countries to protest peacefully.
The Pakistan foreign ministry last month summoned the Dutch ambassador and lodged a "strong protest" over Wilders's film, which it said "deeply offended the sentiments of Muslims all over the world."
The cartoons originally appeared in a Danish newspaper in September 2005, sparking anger and protests across the Muslim world. Five people died in Pakistan in February 2006 during violent protests against the drawings.
At least 17 Danish dailies reprinted one of the cartoons in February, vowing to defend freedom of expression a day after police in Denmark foiled a plot to murder the cartoonist. |
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Eight students involved in anti-`Fitna` demo indicted in Medan court |
| Thursday, May 1, 2008 |
Medan, N Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Eight Indonesian Muslim University Student Union (HMI) activists on trial at the Medan District Court for burning the Dutch flag and damaging the Dutch consulate in a demonstration in early April have been indicted on the basis of Criminal Code articles carrying a maximum jail sentence of five years and six months.
The indictment was read out in turns by four public prosecutors in a session of the court here Wednesday.
In the indictment, the prosecution said the defendants committed the acts during a demonstration at the Dutch consulate general on Jalan Mongonsidi in Medan last April 2 to protest against the film "Fitna" produced by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders.
In the demonstration the HMI activists denounced the film`s circulation, urged the government to cut its diplomatic ties with the Netherlands and called on the public to boycott Dutch-made goods.
Then, the prosecution said, the defendants burned two car tires in front of the consulate`s front gate, forced their way into the consulate compound after pulling down the fence. They also lowered the Dutch flag that had been flying from a pole in the consulate`s front yard and took out the consulate`s name plate.
Their collective acts in damaging and destroying other people`s property had also made them liable to a jail sentence of two years and eight months, the prosecution said.
After listening to the indictment, the three-man jury adjourned the session until May 7, 2008 when the defense would have the opportunity to respond to the prosecution`s charges.
The eight defendants were M.Yusuf Pasaribu, M.Bahmid Pulungan, M.Irwandi Nasution, Almayaruddin, Irwan Lubis (all five from the technical faculty of Medan University), Aulia Rahman (technical faculty of North Sumatra University), Leriadi and Zulkifli (both from the North Sumatra State Institute of Islamic Studies).(*)
antara.co.id |
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Pakistani Islamic women protest 'anti-Islam' film, cartoons |
| Monday, April 28, 2008 |
KARACHI (AFP) — Thousands of Pakistani women rallied here Saturday to protest against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed and a Dutch film said to insult Islam, witnesses said.
The women shouted "death to Denmark and death to Netherlands," as they marched about a kilometre (less than a mile) on a busy street.
Police said up to 4,000 women, mostly from an Islamic party, took part in the noisy demonstration, venting anger against the Internet release of a 15-minute film last month by far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders and publication of the Prophet caricatures.
In a resolution the rally urged the government to cease diplomatic ties with Denmark and the Netherlands and expel their envoys.
"We will defend the honour of our prophet and our religion at the cost of our lives," the fundamentalist Jamaat-i-Islami party said.
The Pakistan foreign ministry last month summoned the Dutch ambassador and lodged a "strong protest" over Wilders's film, which it said "deeply offended the sentiments of Muslims all over the world."
The cartoons originally appeared in a Danish newspaper in September 2005, sparking anger and protests across the Muslim world. Five people died in Pakistan in February 2006 during violent protests against the drawings.
At least 17 Danish dailies reprinted one of the cartoons in February, vowing to defend freedom of expression a day after police in Denmark foiled a plot to murder the cartoonist. |
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Senate pass unanimous resolution against blasphemous caricatures, film |
| Saturday, April 26, 2008 |
ISLAMABAD, April 25 (APP): The Senate on Friday passed a unanimous resolution on the re-printing of caricatures and release of a film ‘Fitna’ by a Dutch parliamentarian. The resolution presented by leader of the opposition Kamil Ali Agha urged the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark to prosecute the responsible people for defaming other religions under their own laws.
The two governments have been told that freedom of expression does not give license to offend the members of religions.
The resolution said these sacrilegious acts went against the efforts of those countries and individuals who are building bridges between religions and civilizations.
“The house firmly believes that these acts of defamation and incitement to hatred not only deeply hurt the sentiments of Muslims all over the world but also threaten the stability of many societies,” the resolution added.
It called on the UN to take all necessary legal, political and administrative steps to curb this trend and ensure respect of all religions in the society.
The resolution said such acts are in violation of international law including the UN Charter as well as the domestic laws of the countries where these sacrilegious acts are carried out.
The Senate hoped that the UN would take further legal action to fill the gap in the existing legal regimes in relation to defamation of religious and incitement of hatred.
app.com.pk |
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Islamist video responds to Dutch film and war on terror |
| Friday, April 25, 2008 |
By Lin Noueihed
DUBAI (Reuters) - An al Qaeda-linked website has posted a 10-minute film showing civilians killed or maimed in U.S. and Israeli air strikes as an answer to an anti-Koran film released by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders last month.
The video, billed as a "response to the film called 'fitna' produced by the hateful crusader Wilders", is dedicated more to criticizing the U.S.-led "war on terror" than Wilders himself.
Wilders' film, titled "fitna" or "strife" in Arabic, warns that Muslim immigration is undermining Western values and urges Muslims to tear out "hate-filled" verses from the Koran. It mixes images of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and other bombings with quotations from Islam's holy book.
Muslim nations condemned Wilders' film as offensive and the Dutch government distanced itself from him to avert the kind of backlash Denmark faced over the publication of cartoons lampooning Islam's Prophet Mohammad.
The response, posted on an al Qaeda-linked website that has carried videos from Osama bin Laden, paints U.S.-led wars as modern-day Crusades led by President George W. Bush, a devout Christian whose two terms in office were won with strong backing from the religious right.
One in four U.S. adults count themselves as evangelical or "born again", giving them political clout in the United States.
The film was described as an Al-Muraiqib production but its makers did not identify themselves further. It opens with marching soldiers before cutting to a poster reading "Jesus Camp: America is born again".
The first half is a compilation mixing clips of bombs hurtling down from U.S. military planes with images of mangled corpses or wounded children in countries from Iraq to the Palestinian territories, Afghanistan and Vietnam. Continued...
In a swipe at the U.S. president, it shows an image of a Crusader knight dubbed with Bush's comment about "this crusade" against terrorism. The remark, made after the September 11 attacks, evoked for many Muslims the military campaigns by medieval Christians against Islam.
"Nazarenes and Jews are the terrorists and their past and their present bear witness to this," read a statement presenting the film. "The true enemy of Islam is the Crusader Pope, God curse him, and the leader of the Crusader campaign Bush."
The film's second half quotes intellectuals from Mahatma Ghandi to Leo Tolstoy and George Bernard Shaw praising the Prophet.
Wilders, leader of the right-wing Freedom Party (PVV), posted his short video on the Internet in March.
His film starts and ends with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb in his turban. Caricatures of the Prophet, first published in Danish papers, ignited violent protests around the world in 2006.
(Editing by Catherine Evans) |
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Arabist Hans Jansen new book "Islam for pigs, monkeys, donkeys and other animals" |
| Thursday, April 24, 2008 |
In his recent book Islam for pigs, monkeys, donkeys and other animals, Dutch Arabist Hans Jansen has put a cat in among the scientific pigeons. However, it looks like the media are taking him more seriously than his fellow Islam experts are. "Jansen has completely set aside his scientific scruples."
Hans Jansen has always been critical of his colleagues, but in his last but one publication Islam for pigs he attacks them in no uncertain terms. He writes:
"Most western professors with Islam in their portfolio like to talk with Muslims. It often has nothing to do with science. It is pure deception, in which malice cannot always be ruled out, although ignorance is of course increasingly common as it is everywhere else."
Fellow Arabist Professor Martin van Bruinessen from the Institute for Studies in Islam in the Modern World (ISIM) in Leiden is surprised by Dr Jansen's arrogant tone.
"I don't really know what he is referring to, but what he accuses his colleagues of can easily just as well apply to him."
Mr Van Bruinessen thinks that it's Mr Jansen's book, which is lying in front of him on the table, that is unscientific and misleading.
"It creates an image of Islam and Muslims which is much more dangerous that can be justified by the facts. Dr Jansen is not stupid, so the question is why does he write these kind of things."
An inconvenient truth
Professor Van Bruinessen expresses the growing irritation with Hans Jansen among his colleagues. He remembers when in the 1990s, Dr Jansen wrote facetious pieces about Islam. But since the Netherlands became obsessed by fear of Islam after 9/11, the professor from Utrecht has grown into a real phenomenon in the media, in which he presents himself as the only Dutch expert who dares to talk about the inconvenient truth of Islam without political correctness getting in the way. Dr Jansen's work is an important source of inspiration for anti-Islamic MP Geert Wilders. In the days after his film Fitna was put on the web, Dr Jansen appeared in several television programmes to explain its content.
In Islam for pigs, he sets out his vision by answering 250 questions about Islam. In the book, Islam is portrayed as a dangerous and violent religion. The Qur'an preaches peace, Dr Jansen admits, but only once everyone has submitted to the religion. Up to that time, evil and unbelievers have to be conquered, using violence if necessary.
The number of Dutch Muslims that reject al-Qaeda's brand of terrorism could be "lower than we think", according to the professor. Most Muslims do not see Bin Laden as a madman, but rather as a "super-activist, who is taking the ultimate steps according to Islamic rules in the fight against infidels."
Scruples aside
The title of the book refers to the terms used by the Qur'an for unbelievers and Jews, explains the author in the introduction. Professor Van Bruinessen says:
"If you take the time to look at the passages in question - for example on the bibleandkoran.net site, you will see that this is just not true. The Qur'an tells about a people in the past that disobeyed God and was turned into pigs and monkeys as a punishment."
Professor van Bruinessen thinks this is typical of Mr Jansen's style.
"Since Mr Jansen received the title of professor, but in particular since the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, he has set all scientific scruples aside. He has become an anti-Islam polemist who has no reservations about completely misrepresenting the issues on purpose."
Ayatollah
Islam expert Dick Douwes, professor at the university of Rotterdam, agrees.
"Dr Jansen takes certain verses from the Qur'an to prove that Islam preaches violence against disbelievers. But he completely ignores the fact that most Muslims have a different reading of the text. He is not acting like a scientist but more like an ayatollah who studies the scriptures and thinks it is up to him to tell others what the Qur'an says."
But if Dutch Islam experts have so many objections to Dr Jansen's statements, why is there so little opposition to what he says? Professor van Bruinessen says most Arabists are just too busy with their own research and with writing scientific papers. Dr Jansen, who for several years now has only written populist pieces, is never actually taken seriously by his peers. "They have failed to realise for too long now that the media do take him seriously."
radionetherlands.nl |
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Dutch mosques cancel debate with Wilders |
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A group of Moroccan mosques in and around the Dutch town of Gouda has cancelled a debate with right-wing MP Geert Wilders in Waddinxveen as the MP has refused to agree to a number of conditions.
A spokesperson for the coalition of mosques said the Freedom Party leader refused to agree to the principle of equal time for each speaker or an impartial moderator. The coalition of mosques says they do not believe it is possible to hold a balanced debate as Wilders has refused to agree to the conditions.
The debate in Waddinxveen, scheduled for 16 May, would have been the first time that the far-right MP discussed his film Fitna, Islam and the integration problem with people directly concerned with the issues raised by Wilders since the release of his film.
[Radio Netherlands / Expatica] |
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Anti-Fitna conference to be held in Tehran |
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TEHRAN, (ISNA)-Cultural committee of Iran’s critics and playwrights association is to hold a one-day conference on anti-Fitna cinema meaning “anti-sedition” on April 26.
Experts, critics and film makers in this conference are to study West cinema cultural inroad to Iranian culture and Islam and the ways to defy it.
Films such as “Fitna”, “Persepolis”, “300” and “A Night with The King” will also be reviewed at the conference.
The film “Fitna” by Geert Wilders a Dutch politician is a malicious film about Islam insulting religious feelings of Muslims and has raised many protests and condemnation by Muslim nations.
isna.ir |
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Philippines condemns anti-Koran film but calls for calm |
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MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine government condemned a Dutch lawmaker's anti-Koran film Wednesday for inciting hatred toward Islam, but officials also called for calm among those critical of the movie.
A statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippines was "in solidarity with the Islamic world in denouncing the offensive contents of the film "Fitna," or "Ordeal" in Arabic.
The film's "association of Islam with acts of violence is defamatory and serves to heighten misperceptions about a religion of peace," the statement said.
The film by right-wing Dutch legislator Geert Wilders was posted on a Web site last month. It triggered street protests in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia, and calls in other countries to boycott Dutch goods.
Wilders' movie juxtaposes verses from Islam's holy book, the Koran, with images of the terror attacks on New York, Madrid and elsewhere. It shows footage of imams saying Islam should dominate the world.
The Dutch government has said it disagrees with the film's harsh, hateful tone but insists Wilders has a constitutional right to air his views. The UN secretary-general and UN agencies have condemned the film. EU foreign ministers have sharply rejected its views.
The Philippine statement said freedom of expression "should always be done with the attendant responsibility."
"Nobody should, in his or her exercise of this right, slander, libel or defame any particular religion or creed," it said.
"Nevertheless, we wish to advance our call for sobriety in light of the widespread adverse reactions to the film. Acts of violence in the context of this issue are unjustified," the statement said.
The Philippine government is sensitive to anti-Islamic sentiments as it grapples with a more than three-decade-old Muslim separatist insurgency while battling al Qaeda-linked militants in the country's south.
inquirer.net |
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Dutch embassy in Kabul closed |
| Wednesday, April 23, 2008 |
The Dutch embassy in Kabul has been closed since Monday because of a security alert, news agency ANP reports on Wednesday. The 15 Dutch and 35 local staff are now working from a secret location, ANP says.
A foreign ministry spokesman refused to say if the closure was connected to MP Geert Wilders' anti-Koran film released on March 28.
Last week, the Dutch embassy in Islamabad was moved into a hotel because of security risks associated with Wilders´ film Fitna.
*DutchNews.nl |
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Europeans see higher terror threat |
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A new tape by Al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri calls for reprisals in Europe, where officials see increasing terrorist activity and anger over provocative depictions of Islam.
Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said reprisals were possible in Denmark, Japan, Norway, and Sweden, in an audiotape released Tuesday. Coming in the wake of messages from Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in March, the comments have raised concerns about the potential for new attacks in the West.
In some European countries, terror-threat levels have been elevated, with both Britain and Dutch leaders announcing in recent weeks that the potential for terror activity appeared to be increasing. That was attributed to more terrorists operating in Europe and to controversial depictions of Islam in cartoons and in film.
On Tuesday, a tape release by Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant called for strikes against the US-coalition in Iraq. The tape, for which a full translated transcript is not available, criticized the Palestinian group Hamas over "reported readiness to consider a peace deal with Israel" and Iran's "complicity" in the US assault on Afghanistan in 2001, reports the Agence France-Presse. Mr. Zawahiri also asserted that the "greed" at the root of global warming would make the world more sympathetic to Muslim "jihad" against the West. The voice on the tape could not be confirmed, but the two-hour message was the second of two installments in which Zawahiri responded to questions taken from extremist websites, the Associated Press reports.
Responding to a question of whether the terror group had plans to attack Western countries that participated in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and subsequent war, al-Zawahiri said, "My answer is: Yes! We think that any country that joined aggression on Muslims must be deterred."
The tape follows an assessment April 13 by Britain's home secretary, Jacqui Smith, describing the threat as "severe" and "growing," reports the BBC.
Ms Smith said: "We now face a threat level that is severe. It's not getting any less, it's actually growing….
"There are 2,000 individuals they are monitoring. There are 200 networks. There are 30 active plots.
"That has increased over the past two years. Since the beginning of 2007, 57 people have been convicted on terrorist plots."
Some of the elevated risk in Europe and to European forces abroad appears to stem from the lingering effects of right-wing Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders's film that linked Islam's holy book, the Koran, with violence. The film, "Fitna," was released on the Internet March 27 and received 3 million page views before the website's host, British company LiveLeaks, shut down a link to the film, citing threats.
The video had been expected to incite the Muslim world, but its effects appeared subdued, especially compared with the violence that erupted after the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad in 2006 that Muslims considered blasphemous. Those cartoons, first published by the Jyllands-Posten newspaper led to protests across the Muslim world, reported The Christian Science Monitor. The protests were reignited when one cartoon was published again in 2008 and a March recording attributed to Mr. bin Laden said that Europe would suffer attacks because of the cartoons.
While much of the film's impact appears to be taking place in Europe, where ongoing debate surround the freedom of expression, Dutch officials are taking precautions abroad. On April 17, reports Pakistan's Daily Times:
The Netherlands has moved its embassy in the Pakistani capital Islamabad over security concerns following the release of an anti-Koran film by a Dutch politician.
The Danish Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it has evacuated its staff from embassies in Algeria and Afghanistan because of threats after newspapers reprinted the cartoon depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad, reports Associated Press. That followed an April 20 attack on Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan, reports Reuters.
The Taliban said a deadly attack on Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan was in retaliation for an anti-Islamic film made by a politician from the Netherlands, a U.S. terrorism monitoring service said on Sunday....
The attack was one of "a sequence of missions taking revenge for the insulting film," the Taliban said in a message in Arabic on its website....
Earlier this year, Dutch officials had downplayed the risks of showing the film, saying the country had been engaged in diplomacy, reports Reuters.
"I don't think it will be risky for the military in Afghanistan," [Dutch Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop said] . "But we have to be alert, and we are."
Although Dutch diplomats met with Islamic leaders in the Mideast, who have conveyed the message that the film does not represent the country,the country's threat level, was raised, Reuters reports. And a new report by the head of the Dutch secret service cited more "jihadist activity" in the county, reports Radio Netherlands.
"As to the question of whether it is still safe in the Netherlands, I would say I still think the Netherlands is still safe. Having said that, I don't mean we aren't constantly on the alert for possible developments that could possibly lead to an attack. There has been both an increase in the actual threat and also an increase in the conceivable threat...."
Dutch officials had anticipated an uproar once the film was released. On the day of the release, however, one police spokesperson said the opposite was true, reported the Los Angeles Times. "In fact, it's quieter than usual here today. Sort of like a holiday."
Still, as Egyptian film critic Samir Farid told the Al-Ahram Weekly, the film highlights the polarized debate in both the Western and Muslim worlds. Mr. Farid sees hope in those who "are beginning to find the blizzard of European anti-Muslim artistic expression tiresome."
"Freedom of expression and secularism were once the hallmark of our own cultural heritage," Samir Farid, one of Egypt's leading film critics, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "In 1935 an Egyptian writer, Ismail Adham, published a book entitled Why I am an Apostate. Nobody called for his trial, let alone his death. Nobody called him an infidel. That was freedom of expression."
Farid laments the way in which, over recent decades, Muslim societies have become prey to the dictates of self-styled religious authorities who are seeking power. "When Westerners watch televised interviews with Osama bin Laden and Ayman El-Zawahri in which they celebrate the attacks of 11 September it should come as no surprise that some of them will go on to produce films, plays and books depicting Islam as a religion that glorifies violence....
"There is a schism over freedom of speech. There is the question of the politics of morality, or the lack of it."
Prior to the film's release, the German online newsmagazine Sign and Sight said Mr. Wilders seemed to have created in an ideal situation for himself – and a double bind for the Dutch government.
Wilders would consider the banning of his film by the Dutch government proof that the Netherlands is giving in to Islam. If the film does air and riots break out, this will prove Wilders' position that Islam is an intolerant religion.
While Europe continues to debate the freedom of expression, the European Union has also taken steps to strengthen its anti-terror rules, making it easier for police to shut down websites that incite violence or recruit for attacks, reports the International Herald Tribune. Still, the EU policing agency:
"Europol said this month that the number of arrests connected with terrorism doubled in the EU in 2007 from the previous year. The overwhelming majority of attacks carried out within the bloc, it said, were linked to separatist movements, rather than militant Islam."
csmonitor.com |
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Ahmed Marcouch begrijpt gevaar imam Fawaz |
| Tuesday, April 22, 2008 |
‘Heer Fawaz, kunt u mij uitleggen wat u beoogt met uw oordeel?’ In de Volkskrant van afgelopen zaterdag richtte de Amsterdamse stadsdeelvoorzitter Ahmed Marcouch (PvdA) zich in een open brief rechtstreeks tot de Haagse imam Fawaz. Aanleiding hiertoe was dat Fawaz Marcouch een ‘hypocriete schijnpoliticus’ noemde.
Een ‘schijnpoliticus’ en een ‘hypocriet’, die ‘vissend naar de stemmen van moslims’ leugens van ongelovigen vergoelijkt. Dit omdat Marcouch vraagtekens had gezet bij kledingvoorschriften over lange baarden, korte snorren, lange jurken, korte broeken en andere gewichtige zaken.
Geobsedeerd
De nieuwe uitspraken van Fawaz zijn opmerkelijk omdat hij zich de laatste tijd in de traditionele media, voor zijn doen, juist vaak ‘genuanceerd’ uitlaat. Direct na de vertoning van ‘Fitna’ preekte hij bijvoorbeeld rustig te blijven.
Het kan zijn dat Fawaz uit zijn rol schoot omdat het over kledingvoorschriften ging. Fawaz is op zijn manier geobsedeerd door kleding, haardracht en uiterlijkheden. Lees er z’n website maar op na.
Uit de rubriek Vraag en antwoord:
Mag de vrouw haar snorhaar weghalen? (gelukkig, dat mag)
Mag een man een platina ring dragen?
En een leren jack?
Wat is het oordeel over gekleurde lenzen?
Wat doe je met afgeknipte nagels? (weggooien, zou ik zeggen)
Et cetera.
DreigingDit is nog hilarisch te noemen, maar tegenover Marcouch lijkt er sprake te zijn van een banvloek. ‘In het salafistische gedachtengoed is de beschuldiging een ‘munafiq’ (hypocriet) te zijn, veel zwaarder dan die van afvallige’, laat Marcouch optekenen in de Volkskrant.
De vraag aan het begin van dit artikel was dus een retorische. Want wie weet dat imam Fawaz Theo van Gogh voor zijn dood heeft vervloekt en de gevluchte Hirsi Ali eveneens, en dat leden van de Hofstadgroep kind aan huis waren van de As Soennah-moskee van Fawaz, beseft wat voor impliciete dreiging er uitgaat van de woorden van de imam.
VerdorvenHypocrisie is van toepassing op Fawaz zelf. Hij spreekt met verschillende tongen (reden waarom sommige extreme jongeren zich van hem hebben afgekeerd). Hij heeft eerder de democratie vervloekt, maar maakt zich nu plots druk om een stadsdeelvoorzitter die naar moslimstemmen zou hengelen. Wat is nu het probleem als je de democratie toch niet erkent, mijnheer Fawaz?
Zo er iets positiefs is aan het hele gebeuren, is het dat een vooraanstaand lid van de moslimgemeenschap in Nederland, zich onomwonden uitspreekt tegen de verdorven Fawaz. Kleur bekennen, daar gaat het om, en dan op een andere manier dan Doekle Terpstra beoogt.
Intussen heeft Fawaz al gereageerd op de website van zijn moskee. Strekking: Marcouch begrijpt er niets van: ‘Enkele door u gedane uitspraken over de Islam die blijk geven van een grote onbekendheid met het geloof waarmee u zich tooit.’
TheocratieHet grootste deel van zijn reactie gaat op aan kledingvoorschriften: ‘De Profeet (vrede zij met hem) gaf de volgende opdracht aan de moslimmannen: “Knipt de snorren bij en laat de baarden (met rust)!”’ Wijselijk gaat Fawaz niet in op de vraag van Marcouch; wat de imam nu eigenlijk beoogt. Dat is veelzeggend. Fawaz besluit als volgt: ‘Derhalve is ons verzoek aan u om u niet te mengen met (sic) theologische kwesties waar u geen of weinig verstand van heeft en vooral geen uitspraken te doen die niet op waarheid zijn gebaseerd en die theologisch incorrect zijn.’
Waarschijnlijk te doen gebruikelijk in het oord waar de imam vandaan komt of in de theocratie | | |
