Racist Dutch MP Geert Wilders to be Prosecuted for Fitna

[The_Prince]

A Dutch court has ordered prosecutors to put a right-wing politician on trial for making anti-Islamic statements.

Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders made a controversial film last year equating Islam with violence and has likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

"In a democratic system, hate speech is considered so serious that it is in the general interest to... draw a clear line," the court in Amsterdam said.

Mr Wilders said the judgement was an "attack on the freedom of expression".

"Participation in the public debate has become a dangerous activity. If you give your opinion, you risk being prosecuted," he said.

Not only he, but all Dutch citizens opposed to the "Islamisation" of their country would be on trial, Mr Wilders warned.

"Who will stand up for our culture if I am silenced?" he added.

'Incitement'

The three judges said that they had weighed Mr Wilders's "one-sided generalisations" against his right to free speech, and ruled that he had gone beyond the normal leeway granted to politicians
"The Amsterdam appeals court has ordered the prosecution of member of parliament Geert Wilders for inciting hatred and discrimination, based on comments by him in various media on Muslims and their beliefs," the court said in a statement.

"The court also considers appropriate criminal prosecution for insulting Muslim worshippers because of comparisons between Islam and Nazism made by Wilders," it added.

The court's ruling reverses a decision last year by the public prosecutor's office, which said Mr Wilders's comments had been made outside parliament as a contribution to the debate on Islam in Dutch society and that no criminal offence had been committed.

Prosecutors said on Wednesday that they could not appeal against the judgement and would open an investigation immediately.

Gerard Spong, a prominent lawyer who pushed for Mr Wilders's prosecution, welcomed the court's decision.

"This is a happy day for all followers of Islam who do not want to be tossed on the garbage dump of Nazism," he told reporters.

'Fascist book'

In March 2008, Mr Wilders posted a film about the Koran on the internet, prompting angry protests across the Muslim World.

The opening scenes of Fitna - a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife" - show a copy of the holy book followed by footage of the bomb attacks on the US on 11 September 2001, London in July 2005 and Madrid in March 2004.

Pictures appearing to show Muslim demonstrators holding up placards saying "God bless Hitler" and "Freedom go to hell" also feature.

The film ends with the statement: "Stop Islamisation. Defend our freedom."

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said at the time that the film wrongly equated Islam with violence and served "no purpose other than to offend".

A year earlier, Mr Wilders described the Koran as a "fascist book" and called for it to be banned in "the same way we ban Mein Kampf", in a letter published in the De Volkskrant newspaper.

Mr Wilders has had police protection since Dutch director Theo Van Gogh was killed by a radical Islamist in 2004.

Correspondents say his Freedom Party (PVV), which has nine MPs in the lower house of parliament, has built its popularity largely by tapping into the fear and resentment of Muslim immigrants.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7842344.stm

Now before all the none-Muslim start making their comment saying oh this against freedom of speech bla bla bla, let me pull the rug from under your legs to leave you with not one real argument. this Geert Wilders has called for the banning of the Quran, essentially the banning of religion, which is against freedom, and freedom of speech, so plz dont cry now saying freedom of speech is being attacked, where were all of you complaining and shouting for freedom when wilders was calling for the end of freedoms for Muslims? oh yeahhhhhh, u were NO WHERE. if wilders was in power, he would be doing the same thing to Muslims.

so with that said, none Muslims have no case at all, if they complain about this then they just show their hypocrisy and double standards, ohhhhhhhhh the irony is so funny, we are so sad that freedom of speech is being taken away from a man who wants to take away the freedom of speech of others! Wilders is getting his own medicine, i hope he likes its taste.

[Woodrow]

It is
nice to see good news every now and then.

[Civilsed]

[Qingu]

Now before all the none-Muslim start making their comment saying oh this against freedom of speech bla bla bla, let me pull the rug from under your legs to leave you with not one real argument. this Geert Wilders has called for the banning of the Quran, essentially the banning of religion, which is against freedom, and freedom of speech, so plz dont cry now saying freedom of speech is being attacked, where were all of you complaining and shouting for freedom when wilders was calling for the end of freedoms for Muslims? oh yeahhhhhh, u were NO WHERE. if wilders was in power, he would be doing the same thing to Muslims.

so with that said, none Muslims have no case at all, if they complain about this then they just show their hypocrisy and double standards, ohhhhhhhhh the irony is so funny, we are so sad that freedom of speech is being taken away from a man who wants to take away the freedom of speech of others! Wilders is getting his own medicine, i hope he likes its taste.

Prince, you seem to think that supporting freedom of speech means supporting everything that is said under that freedom. That is absurd.

I support freedom of speech.

That means I think people should be able to freely say what they want—even if they say things like "Muslims should be banned from practicing religion." Or things like "Blasphemers should be killed under Shariah Law," and other things I think are absurd and dangerous.

In fact, the entire point of freedom of speech is that you are supposed to (legally) tolerate things that enrage you, opinions you think are stupid or dangerous—including calls, like Wilder's, to end Muslims' freedom of speech. I think Wilder's opinion is stupid and dangerous. But calls to end freedom of speech are protected under freedom of speech, and so he should not be prosecuted.

Where is the hypocrisy, Prince?

[The_Prince]

Prince, you seem to think that supporting freedom of speech means supporting everything that is said under that freedom. That is absurd.

I support freedom of speech.

That means I think people should be able to freely say what they want—even if they say things like "Muslims should be banned from practicing religion." Or things like "Blasphemers should be killed under Shariah Law," and other things I think are absurd and dangerous.

In fact, the entire point of freedom of speech is that you are supposed to (legally) tolerate things that enrage you, opinions you think are stupid or dangerous—including calls, like Wilder's, to end Muslims' freedom of speech. I think Wilder's opinion is stupid and dangerous. But calls to end freedom of speech are protected under freedom of speech, and so he should not be prosecuted.

Where is the hypocrisy, Prince?

so its ok to say go kill thats freedom of speech, or i can go call ppl ******s, kikes, sand ******s, etc etc etc, theres a difference between free speech, and speech that incites against the law, when you call for things that are against the law and consistution thats not simple free speech.

now heres another thing, if i said this about Jews, that theyre book is a facist book, the Jews are dangerous, must be banned from our country, etc etc i would be stopped at once, and heyyyyyyyyyyyy that sounds familiar doesnt it? someone else used to do that and then what happened? but no when its MUSLIMS oh its just freedom of speech, deal with it! give us a break.

[aamirsaab]

Good. Eat that right-winged racist bigots.

[KAding]

Disturbing news. A black day for our liberal democratic system.

[AntiKarateKid]

Disturbing news. A black day for our liberal democratic system.

It is a bright day for common sense freedom.

While you guys defend every verbally rabid maniac out there under the guise of "freedom of speech," some people are smart enoggh to know that everything has a limit.

Bye bye blind speech and hello common sense!


I can get kicked out of public universities for swearing and making slanderous accusations at people but that is all bright and dandy but when a person insults billions and spreads lies and people stand up and say "enough is enough!", rabid liberals jump to arms trying to protect the last thing protecting them from a good bloody nose when spewing such rubbish.




Hey Kading, go chant the N-word during black history month out on the streets and we'll see how far your extremist interpretation of freedom of speech takes you!

[Amadeus85]

It doesnt really matter if Wilders achieves political succes or not. The sign of his victory would be if the mainstream political parties take the core of his views, which can happen, as Holland is a small country with millions of immigrants.

[Intisar]

Disturbing news. A black day for our liberal democratic system.

How?

Someone is persecuted for equating Mein Kamp to the Quran and that's disturbing news?

[Trumble]

Disturbing news. A black day for our liberal democratic system.

Depends what he is actually being prosecuted for, and the nature of his comments. If he is accused of inciting religious and/or racial hatred which may explicitly or implicitly lead to violence and social disorder the prosecution is correct. If all his comments have done is offend some people, it is indeed an unjustified attack on freedom of expression. Not to mention giving Wilders a far bigger audience than he would ever have had otherwise.

[Ar-RaYYan]

i hate the way the western world use the term 'freedom of speech' to justify everything
there is nothing wrong with freedom of speech but it should have its limitation like everything else

[Keltoi]

There is a difference between expressing a point of view and making hate propoganda. I can understand the charge on that basis, but hopefully the outcome of this prosecution won't damage the right of citizens to express a point of view that might offend others.

[al Amaanah]

WONDERFUL news.

[Güven]

indeed VERY GOOD news ! what a bright day for those who seek REAL freedom!

That man is a mess and half of the dutch politicians too!

freedom of speech , dont make me laugh...

[The_Prince]

freedom of speech aint under attack, idiots who go around comparing a religous text by the 2nd most largest religion in europe as nazism and facism, and etc etc is a jackass who does not deserve to have a forum and shud be arrested at once, thats not even causing offence, this goes even beyond the line of annoying someone.

whether you guys like it or not, we Muslims are not your punching bad to excersize your bigoted views on, you think were here to just sit around and allow you to liken us to nazism, and call our core beliefs backward and barbaric on a non stop basis???? its actually amazing as to how much patience we Muslims are showing, not only do they kill us, but they want to destroy what we stand and believe for, you guys better start keeping these barbarians in check because the Muslims wont be quiet and patient forever, say freedom of speech all u want, the reality will change one day, and not in your favor. on a scale of 1-10 Muslim anger is at 7 right now, you dont want it at 10, because then you guys will know what the definition of carnage really means, and this aint a threat, its a FACT, stop pushing a sleeping giant.

[Woodrow]

Freedoms end when they infringe upon or interfere with another persons rights. Freedoms need to be used with responsibility and caution.

A man might have the freedom to marry who he chooses, but he has no right to choose my wife, his freedom of choice ends there.

[Qingu]

freedom of speech aint under attack, idiots who go around comparing a religous text by the 2nd most largest religion in europe as nazism and facism, and etc etc is a jackass who does not deserve to have a forum and shud be arrested at once, thats not even causing offence, this goes even beyond the line of annoying someone.

whether you guys like it or not, we Muslims are not your punching bad to excersize your bigoted views on, you think were here to just sit around and allow you to liken us to nazism, and call our core beliefs backward and barbaric on a non stop basis???? its actually amazing as to how much patience we Muslims are showing, not only do they kill us, but they want to destroy what we stand and believe for, you guys better start keeping these barbarians in check because the Muslims wont be quiet and patient forever, say freedom of speech all u want, the reality will change one day, and not in your favor. on a scale of 1-10 Muslim anger is at 7 right now, you dont want it at 10, because then you guys will know what the definition of carnage really means, and this aint a threat, its a FACT, stop pushing a sleeping giant.

Wow Prince. Sounds like you're threatening hatred and violence. By your logic, you should be prosecuted.

Out of curiosity, Prince, do you think Neo-Nazi groups and the Ku Klux Klan should be persecuted for expressing their views? I don't.

[Qingu]

Freedoms end when they infringe upon or interfere with another persons rights. Freedoms need to be used with responsibility and caution.

What right is Wilders' movie infringing on, exactly?

He is stating his view about Muslims. Sort of like how the Quran states its view about unbelievers. Frankly, I think the Quran's view of unbelievers is a lot more hateful and violence-inciting than Wilder's movie. Wilder isn't saying that Muslims deserve to be tortured forever in hell and have boiling oil poured into their mouths.

Woodrow, you have a hypocritical double-standard. This is exactly why liberals like me have so little sympathy for Muslim groups "offended" by people like Wilders. You don't care about any broader conception of justice or minority rights. You're just out for your own.

[Woodrow]

Woodrow, you have a hypocritical double-standard. This is exactly why liberals like me have so little sympathy for Muslim groups "offended" by people like Wilders. You don't care about any broader conception of justice or minority rights. You're just out for your own.

Kind of liberal for a white, former Connecticut Yankee to come to the acceptance of Islam. I doubt if you would be liberal enough to do that.

wilder's movie was written for the purpose of promoting hatred, not for educational purposes. Fortunately the dutch government saw it for what it is.

You ever notice that no matter how often I have disagreed with you I still stand my ground to defend your right to speak as you do. That may be a hypocritical double standard, but I think it is quite liberal for a Muslim administrator on a Muslim forum to allow a non-Muslim to post as he pleases with no need to fear reprisals from any of the forum staff.