Saturday, January 26, 2008

So, how is that multi-culti go'n?

UPDATE: Embedded trailer link fixed.
Well goodness! What is all this about?
The Dutch Muslim Council has attacked far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders' politics as "racist and fascist".

The council, which includes 200 organisations, appealed for calm ahead of the planned release by the MP of a controversial film.

Mr Wilders says his film will show the Koran as an inspiration for murder.

The Dutch Muslim Council said its members' message to the Muslim and non-Muslim world was that conflict would do no-one any good.

At a packed news conference, the council attacked Geert Wilders' right-wing politics as "racist, fascist and authoritarian" and a threat to Dutch society.

The council appealed to Mr Wilders' supporters to consider the consequences of his film after it was released.

Mr Wilders said the Dutch authorities had let him know that he may have to leave the country for his own safety.

The government is preparing for possible reactions to the film in the Netherlands and overseas, but it is adamant that freedom of expression at the heart of the Dutch constitution must be guaranteed.
Funny, only the Brits seem to be following this in any detail. Here is more.
A politician has warned that a "fear of Islam" is governing Holland after he delayed the release of a short film attacking the Koran.

Geert Wilders, 44, the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party, who compares the Muslim holy book to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, sparked government panic after saying the anti-Islam film would be released tomorrow.

As Dutch police prepared for a weekend of riots and Mr Wilders was told by the authorities that he would have to leave country, he launched a new attack on "intolerant" Islam while announcing that his 10-minute film attacking the Muslim faith would be postponed for two weeks.

"If I had announced that I was going to make a film about the fascist character of the Bible would there have been a crisis meeting of Holland's security forces?" he wrote to the Volkskrant newspaper.

"Would I have received as many death threats as I have done since announcing I was making a film about the Koran? Of course not."

Iran's parliament, the Majlis, this week warned of "extensive repercussions from Muslims throughout the globe" if the film was broadcast.

In an attempt to defuse tensions, the Dutch government will tomorrow announce that it will not implement a ban on the Islamic burqa dress.
Say what you want about Wilders and his party, but he is correct.

Let's go back to the top of the post though; I want to do a little mini-Fisking.
At a packed news conference, the council attacked Geert Wilders' right-wing politics as "racist, fascist and authoritarian" and a threat to Dutch society.
First things first; contrary to the DMC (no run there), Islam/Muslims are not a race.
The council appealed to Mr Wilders' supporters to consider the consequences of his film after it was released.
Second; do "Fascists" or opponents of "Fascists" have to leave their home country under a death threat from a violent retrograde minority of a minority that opposes free speech?

Third; who is authoritarian, he who threatens or he who questions? Fun times. Here is the trailer.

You can see an extended interview of Wilders here and here. Outlaw Mike; you live next door to the Dutch - what are your thoughts?
UPDATE II - Electric Boogaloo: Ayaan on Laura Ingraham on Wilders; can be seen via HotAir here.

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