Amen! At last a political figure with some perspective! Refreshing. The best thing to come out of Europe, since, er...Margaret Thatcher.

Posted by: angryeagle at February 17, 2007 2:37 AM

I wonder if stripping off half of the qu'ran will be enough if you want to turn it into a book advocating
true peace and understanding.
Mr. Wilders is truely a courageous man and there can be no doubts he's putting his life on the line.

I hope Mr. Wilders will inspire other politicians to follow him, too. At least the Dutch establishment can't dispose of him as easily as they disposed of Ayaan Hirsi. And I hope the ethnic Dutch will give him their votes as long as they - still - form the majority of their country. They won't have much time - demographics are working against them and I am sure there are by now plenty of fanatic muslims plotting the death of de Wilders.
Just as they always did and do with critics of their religion. They don't bother to convince anyone by reasoning about the "beauty" of islam. And I suppose they know very well why they don't reason...
Ask yourself what to expect from a religion as long as it idolizes a man who had innocents killed, deceived, robbed, insulted and taken their wifes and daughters and last not least shown no regrets. Justified simply by the fact that these people dared not to instantly adopt his teachings and accept him a as leader..

Posted by: flibustier at February 17, 2007 3:29 AM

Wrong wrong wrong!
The koran should be kept in its full glory

Posted by: shiva at February 17, 2007 4:03 AM

Wait for the Leftist chorus of "ah but there's a lot of violence in the Bible too you know"

Posted by: Celsius at February 17, 2007 5:39 AM

Islam is “the greatest danger threatening us.” He says that other political parties avoid topics like this. “Everything we are proud of, we are selling to the devil. Former head of the Mossad Efraim Halevy says that World War III has begun. I would not use those words, but it’s true,” said Wilders, who in the past has voiced his fear of a “tsunami of Islamisation in the Netherlands.”

How refreshing to see Europe finally begin rubbing the sand out of its eyes (literally and figuratively). All that remains are subsequent death threats from those who adhere to the "Religion of Peace" (which is neither).

Posted by: Zenster at February 17, 2007 6:09 AM

"Wilders should've taken the stance that Islam should be 'totally' banned in the Netherlands (for being a dangerous and volatile religion), rather than saying "Oh, just cut out half the Koran and you'll be fine with us"." Rougie

I agree with that, but as both options are unenforcable, by using this rhetoric Mr. Wilders points to the suras dealing with the subjugation of us, and suggests that it is up to the Mos to reform their ideology, or else be seen as an enemy of us. If this would lead to the MSM actually telling the public what is in the Koran it would at least be a step forward.

IIRC Mr. Wilders has been living on an army base for years, and has been unable to campaign before the election for reasons of security.

Posted by: anti-uffe at February 17, 2007 7:15 AM

I have a far better idea. Instead of just getting rid of half the Koran and solving half the problem, let's get rid of all the Koran and fix all of the problem!

Posted by: A.I. Steamroller at February 17, 2007 9:07 AM

Better late than never. Let's hope it's not too late, that Dutch Islamization hasn't already passed the point of no return.
Why the murder of Theo van Gogh didn't wake them up is a question to ponder. The only people who took notice were derided as "hate-mongers".

"I don't hate Islam. I consider it a backward culture. I have travelled much in the world. And wherever Islam rules, it's just terrible. All the hypocrisy. It's a bit like those old Reformed Protestants. The Reformed lie all the time. And why is that? Because they have norms and values that are so high that you can't humanly maintain them. You also see that in that Muslim culture. Then look at the Netherlands. In what country could an electoral leader of such a large movement as mine be openly homosexual? How wonderful that that's possible. That's something that one can be proud of. And I'd like to keep it that way, thank you very much."

The words of Pim Fortuyn, a Dutch politician murdered in 2002. His positions on Muslim immigration made him an "extremist" who was disowned by his party and denounced by the media. He formed his own party, which could have succeeded in Dutch politics if not for his untimely death.

The Netherlands have had their share of warnings and the people who took those stands were later murdered (although Fortuyn was apparently killed by an animal rights activist(?). Now they're taking notice. Again, better late than never.

Posted by: PMK at February 17, 2007 9:34 AM

That animal rights activist murdered for the sake of his muslim friends.

[-]

"I shot Fortuyn for Dutch Muslims."

"Fortuyn's homosexuality led him to this. "I have gay friends," he explained, "who have been beaten up by young Moroccans in Rotterdam.: He noted that Muslims had belittled and insulted him, saying that, as a gay man, he was "lower than a pig".

His assassin charged that Fortuyn was making Dutch Muslims into 'scapegoats," and that he was exploiting "the weak parts of society to score points." Van der Graaf compared Fortuyn's rise to that of Adolf Hitler, and portrayed the shooting as a noble attempt to save the Netherlands from the far right.

--from Onward Muslim Soldiers by Robert Spencer

[-]

Sounds like Van der Graaf was listening to too much muslim propoganda. I wonder what he thinks now? I think few around the world took notice when Fortuyn was murdered. But many are noticing what is happening now.

Posted by: Borg at February 17, 2007 9:55 AM

Borg,
Let's hope Wilders has protection that was not afforded to Pim Fortuyn. Where was Wilders when Fortuyn was being vilified by other Dutch politicians? It's only been five years. I'm sure Van der Graaf has no regrets, based on what he himself said in court. He'll get out of prison in about fifteen years.

Below is part of a column by Steve Sailer, written at the time of Van der Graaf's trial:

When reports emerged that the leftwing lawyer who had shot Fortuyn was an animal rights activist, the European Establishment breathed a sigh of relief. The gunman was just some animal rights loony. Vilification of immigration reformers had nothing to do with it.

Whew!

Well, guess what? The assassin, Volkert van der Graaf, finally made his confession in court this last week. And—what do you know! – he says he killed Fortuyn largely for opposing Muslim immigration.

The London Daily Telegraph reported:

"Facing a raucous court on the first day of his murder trial, he said his goal was to stop Mr. Fortuyn exploiting Muslims as 'scapegoats' and targeting "the weak parts of society to score points" to try to gain political power. He said: 'I confess to the shooting. He was an ever growing danger who would affect many people in society. I saw it as a danger. I hoped that I could solve it myself.'"

The Boston Globe noted:

"Van der Graaf said that he had sensed an increasingly unpleasant and anti-Muslim atmosphere in society after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States—a time when Fortuyn's star was beginning its meteoric rise. Van der Graaf said Fortuyn, 54, had tried to use that atmosphere for his own aggrandizement. 'I saw him as a highly vindictive man who used feelings in society to boost his personal stature. The ideas he had about refugees, asylum seekers, the environment, animals. . . . He was always using or abusing the weak side of society to get ahead.'"

Reported Expatica.com:

"Van der Graaf claimed, according to the Algemeen Dagblad, he was greatly influenced by politicians who compared Fortuyn with Austrian far-right leader Jorg Haider and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini." [emphasis added].

Fortuyn himself had foreseen exactly this, saying the month before his murder:

"....when I am killed or wounded then you [former Prime Minister Wim Kok] are responsible because you give me no protection and you make the atmosphere in this country so poisonous that people want to hurt me...."

Moral: demonization of immigration reformers has consequences.

Posted by: PMK at February 17, 2007 10:04 AM

Celcius posted:
"Wait for the Leftist chorus of "ah but there's a lot of violence in the Bible too you know"

I hope they do. They can even remove the violent passages from the Bible if they like. They would only find that Western Civilization cannot be defanged that way because all of the borrowings from Christianity that helped to make Western Civ. great are not contained in the violent parts.

The idea that each human being has a personal relationship with God, thereby making each individual an important entity whose rights need defending, the notion of "render unto Caesar what is Caesars and unto God what is God's - separation of Church and State - none of these important ideas have nothing to do with whatever violence may be in the Bible.

We cannot say the same for Islam. Its political power is in it's violence.

Posted by: freedomschool at February 17, 2007 10:07 AM

Mo tarred and feathered -- now THAT'S an awesome thought.

Posted by: champ at February 17, 2007 1:31 PM

Fortuyn killed by an animal rights activist.... How appropriate!

The West is Christian! Its identity is Christian! And the Bible needs not be changed for anyone, no appologies made.

Posted by: ofcourse at February 17, 2007 1:45 PM

Is it too early to start mentioning nominations for anti-dhimmi awards?

Posted by: JSobieski at February 17, 2007 3:17 PM

Angry Eagle:

"Amen! At last a political figure with some perspective! Refreshing. The best thing to come out of Europe, since, er...Margaret Thatcher"

====

No, not quite. Since the late Pym Fortuyn.
A very charismatic & flamboyant gay Dutch professor who founded his own political party that won seats and always spoke his mind. He was anti-illegal immigrant. Came up with statements like, "Holland is full". Unfortuntely he was murdered by a animal-rights activist.

See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pim_Fortuyn

and

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1971462.stm

If only he had lived.

No doubt, there would be less Muslims in Holland if he had been around. And no doubt European minds would have considered what he had to say about Islam.

Quotes from Fortuyn:
"I am also in favour of a cold war with Islam. I see Islam as an extraordinary threat, as a hostile religion."

"Muslims in the Netherlands needed to accept living together with the Dutch, and that if this was unacceptable for them, then they were free to leave."

Have a read of the Wiki article on him.

This bit I like:
>>
One of Fortuyn's fears was of pervasive intolerance in the Muslim community. In a televised debate in 2002, "Fortuyn baited the Muslim cleric by flaunting his homosexuality. Finally the imam exploded, denouncing Fortuyn in strongly anti-homosexual terms. Fortuyn calmly turned to the camera and, addressing viewers directly, told them that this is the kind of Trojan horse of intolerance the Dutch are inviting into their society in the name of multiculturalism
>>

Posted by: UK Infidel Lover at February 17, 2007 5:48 PM

I wish we had politicians with such guts.

Posted by: sounder at February 17, 2007 6:04 PM

"I wish we had politicians with such guts."

I'm sure you (the US?) will get that eventually, once you reach Europe's level of islamization. However, in Europe it is still largely rhetoric as opposed to proactive measures.

Posted by: anti-uffe at February 17, 2007 6:59 PM

Wilders has it right. The part of the Qur'an which should be discarded are the 28 or so suras delivered at Medina. The other 86 revealed earlier at Mecca are not really so bad. Many propound the same teachings found in the Bible.

Posted by: Stukontrue at February 18, 2007 12:53 AM

Personally, the 50% we need to remove should be every other letter in the whole d@mn book. It'd probably come out just as rational as it is now.

Posted by: Zenster at February 18, 2007 2:09 AM

WOW! A politician that tells it like it is! He is in the aptly named " FREEDOM PARTY ", for their can be no freedom amidst a religious totalitarianism of bigotry and intolerance. Let us not mistake that. Islam represents just that. A backwardness of mentality not seen in the Western world since the dark ages.

I just hope the people of the Netherlands are enlightened and open minded enough to head his warning. Otherwise they will find themselves in a Twenty-First Century Dark Age of religious totalitarianism.

----Nossy

Posted by: Nostrodamus at February 18, 2007 6:51 PM

In fact the native white population of Holland are fleeing in droves. See my post http://irishsavant.blogspot.com/2007/01/dutch-natives-fleeing-holland.html

Posted by: Irish Savant at February 19, 2007 5:52 PM