The Dutch MP Geert Wilders who recently called for the Koran to be banned in the Netherlands, will soon be releasing a film on the internet which insults the Koran, and which is reported to show the Koran being torn up and otherwise desecrated.
The extreme right wing politician has made the ten minute film promoting his belief that the Koran inspires people ‘to do the worst things’. His views have inspired him to talk about a ‘Tsunami of Islamisation’ in Europe, for the Koran to be banned, and for Dutch Muslims to either give up their religion or leave the country.
Dutch embassies around the world are beefing up their security ahead of the release of the film. Most politicians in the Netherlands believe Wilders is being inflammatory and insulting, but are sticking to the principle of freedom of expression.
I think there is a big difference between ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘freedom to insult’!
Where are the freedom, rights and law in an official disrespecting the beliefs of a whole group of the country’s citizens, wanting to ban their holy book and even threatening them to give up their beliefs or be thrown out of their country??
And what’s even worse is that this guy’s party gained nine seats in the parliament because of his anti-Islamic remarks.
If this MP said a tenth of the stuff he’s saying now about Jews instead of Muslims for example, would the reaction have been the same? Would it still be freedom of expression? Would it still be so acceptable?
Of course not; He’d be framed as anti-semitic, thrown out of the government, maybe even prosecuted, and his public life would be totally buried forever.
I personally think this has nothing to do with freedom of expression, I think it is staunch bigotry, very insulting and something that should be totally unacceptable from a state official.
I believe it should be illegal for anyone to threaten legal citizens to throw them out of their country for any reason, let alone their religious beliefs.
I think this bigot should be thrown out of office and prosecuted for his attacks and actions.
And regarding the possibility of a violent reaction in the Muslim world to the release of this movie; nobody should expect a ‘civilized’ reaction to such an uncivilized attack! Every action has an equal and opposite reaction!
But still, I really hope violence is avoided and that people show their protest and anger in a more effective way.
Of course not; He’d be framed as anti-semitic
He probably is anti-semitic, actually. He’s just perceiving a larger threat from Muslims than from Jews, at the moment. Europe has a long history of that sort of thing.
thrown out of the government, maybe even prosecuted, and his public life would be totally buried forever.
I doubt it. European governments are full of anti-semites. Again, there is a long history of it in Europe and it’s alive and well in most European countries. They have an advantage now in that they can hide their racism behind condemnations of “Israel”, which they do all the time both in the UN and in the EU. European racism isn’t so great when it isn’t directed at Jews, is it?
Well, I’m going to start by your last sentence:
European racism isn’t so great when it isn’t directed at Jews, is it?
Racism, by anyone, against anyone, is totally unacceptable. full stop.
I also wouldn’t just pin this on Europe, there’s a history of racism all around the world. Things are a lot better these days, or they may seem so, but racism and bigotry still exist everywhere, and it’s just masked under different pretexts like freedom of expression, homeland security, tradition and other stuff.
MMM,
Racism, by anyone, against anyone, is totally unacceptable. full stop.
I agree. Europeans have found that the most effective and most “acceptable” way to hurt Jews is through Israel. So, that’s what they do. And they have found that the most effective and most “acceptable” way to hurt Muslims is by using their freedom of speech to attack Islam. So, that’s what they do.
I find both to be pretty repugnant. Do you? I have no idea, but I don’t recall reading any posts you’ve made about how the Europeans unfairly single out Israel for condemnations, while saying nothing about the 100 or so countries that are an order of magnitude worse. Seems like they could find something to complain about right there in Eastern Europe, don’t you think?
I also wouldn’t just pin this on Europe, there’s a history of racism all around the world.
I agree. And the only thing that has ever reduced racism, has bene to confront it – aggressively. The Europeans have not been confronted (even by other Europeans) about their anti-semitism. It’s unlikely they will be confronted on this, either. Violent reactions from Muslims are just what he is hoping for, and will prove him “right”. And that’s exactly what he’s going to get.
Well Craig, as I said before, racism and bigotry in any form are unacceptable and repugnant to me.
One thing I’d like to comment on what you said though is that not any criticism of Israel is an attack against Jews or a sign of anti-semitism; Israel is a state like any other, and it’s normal for people to criticize its policies if they find them wrong. So I wouldn’t qualify all European criticism of Israel as anti-semitism; that’s just the way Israel likes to portray it, but it’s not true.
For example, I’ve written many many times criticizing the Israeli policies and politics against Palestinians; does that make me anti-semitic? does that mean I hate Jews?
No it doesn’t; I have a bunch of Jewish friends and colleagues, and religion isn’t even an issue, we get along perfectly and respect each other mutually.
Hi MMM,
One thing I’d like to comment on what you said though is that not any criticism of Israel is an attack against Jews or a sign of anti-semitism; Israel is a state like any other
But, it’s not a State like any other. It’s a JEWISH state. It’s the ONLY Jewish state. It was founded by Jews fleeing the Holocaust in Europe, at the end of World War II. Israel is a symbol for Jews all over the world, whether they are Israeli or not. And the Europeans are well aware of all that.
and it’s normal for people to criticize its policies if they find them wrong.
Saudi Arabia’s policies are far more “wrong” by European standards than Israels are. Which is why the endless criticism of Israel by Europeans is racism. The Europeans aren’t objective in they way they treat Israel. They are quite biased. If they were critical of all nations and all people in a balanced manner, then their attitudes and policies couldn’t be called racist. But that isn’t the case. That isn’t even close to how the EU and European nations in the UN treat Israel. It wouldn’t be far from the truth if I claimed Europeans have been more critical of Israel than the whole rest of the world combined, the last several decades.
So I wouldn’t qualify all European criticism of Israel as anti-semitism; that’s just the way Israel likes to portray it, but it’s not true.
Well, I’m a Christian and my ancestors came from Europe. So it isn’t only Israelis who see it that way.
For example, I’ve written many many times criticizing the Israeli policies and politics against Palestinians; does that make me anti-semitic? does that mean I hate Jews?
Not necessarily. If you consider Israel to be an enemy, it would be perfectly understandable. People are not expected to treat their enemies objectively.
If you ARE claiming objectivity, though, do you criticize Arabs/Muslims/Palestinians/etc in the same way, when you feel they are in the wrong?
(I’m just asking the question, I haven’t read enough of your writing to know the answer)
No it doesn’t; I have a bunch of Jewish friends and colleagues, and religion isn’t even an issue, we get along perfectly and respect each other mutually.
OK. I actually don’t have a lot of Jewish friends and colleagues. I don’t have any Jewish friends or colleagues. There aren’t many Jewish people here where I live. I do have a lot of Muslim friends and colleagues, including Arabs. And yet, I get called a zionist all the time. I get called a “Jew” all the time, as well. And I get accused of hating Arabs all the time. None of that is true. I don’t have a high opinion of Islam. But my best friend is a Muslim. I don’t have a high opinion of Arab culture, but my best friend (same person) is an Arab.
I’m with you in what you say – the key to overcoming racism is to treat everyone as an individual, and dispose of preconceptions. But we all have those preconceptions. Those stereotypes. It’s just that some people refuse to ever even try to get past that.
And yet, I get called a zionist all the time. I get called a “Jew” all the time, as well.
I’m talking about on the blogs, there. “Zionist” isn’t a word we use much in the US, and somebody would have to be insane to look at me and think I’m Jewish.
But, it’s not a State like any other. It’s a JEWISH state.
This is the way I see it: Judaism is a religion, Jews are people that follow that religion. Israel is a state, it’s true it was founded by Jews, but still it’s a state which is governed by laws.
So, to me, criticism of that state doesn’t equate with criticism of Jews or Judaism in any way.
Saudi Arabia’s policies are far more “wrong” by European standards than Israels are.
Well, it’s true that there are many issues in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim and Arab countries, but I don’t think they are anywhere near to the racist policies Israel applies to Arabs and Palestinians and the state terrorism it follows against them.
Do you criticize Arabs/Muslims/Palestinians/etc in the same way, when you feel they are in the wrong?
Yes, I do. For example, I’m totally against the way Fatah and Hamas are acting, not thinking of the Palestinian people and their reality, bickering over power while the people starve and get trampled over.
Just a point of clarification, to come back to the topic of this post: Wilders is in no way part of the government, he is only an MP from a small minority party. He is widely considered as a wacko maverick in the Netherlands and does not represent Dutch ways in any sense. If he would say the same things about Jews, he would receive the same volley of criticisms that he is getting right now, and that is it, because their are no laws in Holland stopping people to say what they think in public. It is not the same in France, for instance, or Germany, where he could probably be sued and sent to jail or at least pay a strong fine. But the Netherlands is a nearly total free speech country (legally very much comparable to the USA for that regard) and Wilders has the right to do what he is doing.
This is the most anti-free speech article I’ve read since 1984. Orwell must have had you in mind when writing it.