Stupidity and spinelessness at high levels. “EU condemns Dutch anti-Islam film,” from CNN:
(CNN) — The European Union on Friday condemned a new film by a Dutch lawmaker which is critical of Islam and features controversial images of the Prophet Mohammed.
Not “the Islamic Prophet.” Just “the Prophet.”
The 15-minute film, titled “Fitna,” was posted on a London-based Web site Thursday. It immediately drew criticism from the Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who said the film equates Islam with violence.
“We reject this interpretation,” Balkenende said in a statement. “The vast majority of Muslims reject extremism and violence. In fact, the victims are often also Muslims.”
The film, as Balkenende well knows or should know, simply quotes Qur’anic passages, and then shows Muslims committing violent acts and justifying them with reference to those passages. That this happens, and has happened again and again, is simply a fact. The fact that other Muslims don’t do this is nice, but that fact does nothing to mitigate the other fact. And in fact, it shows up the abysmal failure of peaceful Muslims to restrain their coreligionists.
Slovenia, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said it supported the Dutch government’s position and believes the film does nothing to promote dialogue among religions.
“The European Union and its member states apply the principle of the freedom of speech which is part of our values and traditions. However, it should be exercised in a spirit of respect for religious and other beliefs and convictions,” the Slovenian presidency said in a statement.
“Respect,” i.e., pretending that black is white and white is black.
“Mutual tolerance and respect are universal values we should uphold. We believe that acts, such as the above-mentioned film, serve no other purpose than inflaming hatred.”
No. The acts depicted in the film inflame hatred. The film just reports on this.
The U.S. government warned the film could spark protests and riots….
“It’s not a provocation, but the harsh reality and a political conclusion,” Wilders told reporters Thursday….
The film concludes with scrolling messages reading in part: “The government insists that you respect Islam, but Islam has no respect for you” and “In 1945, Nazism was defeated in Europe. In 1989, communism was defeated in Europe. Now the Islamic ideology has to be defeated.”
LiveLeak issued a statement Thursday saying there was no legal reason not to allow Wilders to post the film. It said the site’s policy is to remain unbiased and allow freedom of speech.
Some in the Muslim community rejected the film as nothing more than dangerous anti-Islamic propaganda.
“This film is a direct attempt to incite violence from Muslims and help fan the flames of Islamophobia,” Arsalan Iftikhar, a contributor to Washington-based Islamica Magazine, told CNN on Thursday. “Any reasonable person can see this is meant to spit in the face of Muslims and insult our religion.”
Mr. Iftikhar, if you want to put out the “flames of Islamophobia,” then work to stop Muslims from committing the acts of violence shown in the film.