Delayed, but still coming. “Anti-Quran film to air in Netherlands,” by Mike Corder for Associated Press (thanks to Willard):
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Protesters already have torched Dutch flags in Afghanistan ahead of a new Dutch film portraying Islam’s holy book as a “fascist” text that incites violence and preaches the oppression of women and homosexuals.
Well, torching flags will certainly prove that the Qur’an doesn’t incite violence!
A Dutch Cabinet minister postponed his trip to Somalia on Friday due to “specific threats” linked to the film, and the Dutch government has urged lawmaker Geert Wilders to scrap his film for the safety of its citizens abroad.
But Wilders said Monday he has begun negotiations with Dutch broadcasters about airing the 15-minute film, “Fitna.” He said he will only allow them to show it in its entirety, and if they refuse, he plans to show it to the media and post it on the Internet.
“We have never learned to be intolerant toward people who are intolerant toward us, toward cultures that are intolerant toward us,” he said in a recent Associated Press interview….
If it airs, Dutch Muslims are expected to file criminal complaints for racial or religious vilification. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to charge Wilders with any offense.
Will accuracy be a defense in that event? After all, the Qur’an does teach violence against and the subjugation of non-Muslims (see 9:5, 9:29, etc. etc.). And jihadists do point to such verses to justify their actions. So if Wilders’ film sticks to the facts, will it really constitute religious vilification? And can it be racial vilification at all, since Islam is not a race?
“Our law is very clear “” anybody can make a film. We have freedom of expression and you cannot restrict that,” says Moroccan-born Sadik Harchaoui, chief of the Forum Institute for Multicultural Development.
“Can you offend people? The answer is yes. I’m not saying you should do it or it is desirable, but you can,” he added. “But if the film is insulting and preaches hate, then the law has to take action.”
According to whose standard? I can say in my experience that all I have done is explain what the Qur’an and Sunnah teach, and what Islamic preachers say, and for that I am routinely accused of “hate” — as if I wrote these texts and wrote the preachers’ sermons. Apparently nowadays simply shedding light on some matters that some people would prefer shrouded in darkness is enough to get you an accusation of “hate.”
The Dutch government says it cannot ban the film but is attempting to distance itself from Wilders, the leader of the Freedom Party, which holds nine of Parliament’s 150 seats.
“It is our responsibility to make clear to everyone that the views and actions of this one elected representative are not those of the government,” Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told reporters last week. “We defend the core values of freedom and respect. We guarantee freedom of expression and of religion, for Muslims as for everyone else.”…
So far, the reaction among the 850,000 Muslims living in this country of 16 million has been muted, but the Dutch government has warned municipalities to be on alert for rioting if and when the film appears.
The moderate National Moroccan Council has said it is trying to “neutralize the threat” posed by the film, but cannot rule out violence at home.
“We will have succeeded if, after the film, Mr. Wilders is frustrated,” chairman, Mohamed Rabbae said at a news conference in January. “If he sees there are no riots and Muslims are cleverer and more democratic than he thinks.”
That would be a victory for everyone.