Word: fitna
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...Wilders, a 46-year-old with bleached-blond, bouffant hair, made international headlines in 2008 when he made a short film called Fitna, in which verses from the Koran were displayed against a background of violent film clips and images of Islamic radicals' terrorism. Described as "offensively anti-Islamic" by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the film led to protests in the Muslim world and prompted Britain to ban Wilders from entering the country. But it also brought Wilders more popularity at home. His Party for Freedom finished second in last year's European Parliament elections, winning...
...films have been anticipated with such fear and loathing. For three months, the Dutch have wrung their hands over the release of the anti-Islamic film Fitna by the provocative, far-right politician Geert Wilders, who has called Islamic theology "retarded" and "dangerous." Concerned over a repeat of the worldwide anger over the cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in Denmark, Dutch politicians railed against the self-proclaimed diatribe against Muslim propensity toward violence. No local outlet (television, web or theater) would show it. Wilders' own server was shut down to prevent the film from being posted online. A lawsuit...
Although Wilders says his film is not a "provocation," Fitna begins and ends with an image of the prophet Mohammed with a bomb under his turban, one of the Danish cartoons that sparked riots two years ago throughout the Muslim world. Wilders goes on to juxtapose verses from the Koran with statements from radical clerics and scenes of horror from New York to Madrid to London. One verse (Surah 4: 56) reads, "Those who have disbelieved our signs, we shall roast them in fire...
While many Muslim experts and organizations say the images in Fitna are shocking and atrocious, they are nothing new. Although they object to what's been called a "caricature of Islam," they say any violence would be an overreaction. These were welcome words to Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who praised calls of restraint from local Muslim organizations. "The film equates Islam with violence. We reject this interpretation," Balkenende said after Fitna was released. "The vast majority of Muslims reject extremism and violence." Other politicians pointed out that the extremists in the film are being prosecuted in their home countries...
Wilders, who once said, "We should become intolerant of the intolerant," is keeping mum for now. But, shortly after the film's release, he said that he was ready to have a dialogue with Muslims about Islam and Fitna, the first time the anti-immigration politician has agreed to debate his adversaries. But whether his adversaries now want to talk to him is an open question...