International Law

WILDERS ANTI-KORAN FILM: THE NETHERLANDS FEARS ATTACKS ON PEOPLE AND PROPERTIES

By Karel.Frielink

Calls to kill Mr. Wilders should be strongly condemned

Freedom of expression is one of the cornerstones of the Dutch democracy. Within the boundaries of the law, one may say whatever one wants to say. But even within these boundaries, expressing one?s view can be highly irresponsible, especially if the purpose thereof is to demonize and offend others. The Dutch politician Geert Wilders is the symbol of zero-tolerance and a champion in disrespectful remarks, and thus behaving irresponsibly.

I very much oppose the ideas and tactics of Geert Wilders. And if only half of what is said about the movie he is making about the Koran is true, I strongly disapprove of his movie too. Mr. Wilders is demonizing and offending millions of people because of their religious believes. He is Undutch in that. According to Wilders the Islam itself (thus not only certain followers) is a dangerous and violent religion, and in his opinion Muslims should get rid of half of the Koran and moreover, the Koran should be legally banned. He uses cheap rhetoric and macho talk to gain political power. He uses and stirs up fear of others. It should be clear to the world that the vast majority in the Netherlands opposes Wilders? behavior and tactics. There should be no doubt about that. Period.

Recently we learned that broadcasting the movie (which no one has seen yet) would not only cause economic and security damage to the Netherlands, but may endanger the life of Mr. Wilders as well. It seems that certain radical Muslims want to kill Mr. Wilders. There seems to be an Al-Qaida-related website calling for jihad against Mr. Wilders. That is unacceptable. How Undutch Mr. Wilders may be, the government of the Netherlands may (and will not) walk away from its responsibility to protect Mr. Wilders from any physical attack whatsoever. The government should also strongly condemn calls to kill Mr. Wilders. Period.

However, let?s not make the same mistake as Mr. Wilders. We should condemn the radicals not the Muslims or the Koran in general.

Karel Frielink
Attorney (Lawyer) / Partner

Full post as published by Karel's Legal Blog on February 29, 2008 (boomark / email).