Geert Wilders faces charges over Fitna
Dutch legislator Geert Wilders, the creator of a controversial web-based film stigmatizing Islam, is to be prosecuted in Amsterdam on charges of discrimination and incitement to hatred.
A court in the Dutch capital said on January 21 that Wilders, who heads the far-right Dutch Freedom Party, made biased and radical statements "as a result of which hate is created."
The 17-minute film "Fitna" received worldwide attention last year when its release on the Internet sparked protests by Muslims in Afghanistan, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, and elsewhere.
The film, whose title means "strife" in Arabic, juxtaposes verses from the Koran with images of beheadings, attacks by Islamic terrorists, and clerics calling for jihad.
The court particularly faulted Wilders for equating the Koran and Islam with the ideology of Nazism and Adolf Hitler's book "Mein Kampf."
"The instigation of hatred in a democratic society constitutes such a serious matter [that it is necessary] to draw a clear boundary in the public debate," the judges said.
The decision caps a several-year effort by civil-rights groups in the Netherlands to bring Wilders to trial for repeated public statements attacking Muslims, RFE/RL reports.
A court in the Dutch capital said on January 21 that Wilders, who heads the far-right Dutch Freedom Party, made biased and radical statements "as a result of which hate is created."
The 17-minute film "Fitna" received worldwide attention last year when its release on the Internet sparked protests by Muslims in Afghanistan, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, and elsewhere.
The film, whose title means "strife" in Arabic, juxtaposes verses from the Koran with images of beheadings, attacks by Islamic terrorists, and clerics calling for jihad.
The court particularly faulted Wilders for equating the Koran and Islam with the ideology of Nazism and Adolf Hitler's book "Mein Kampf."
"The instigation of hatred in a democratic society constitutes such a serious matter [that it is necessary] to draw a clear boundary in the public debate," the judges said.
The decision caps a several-year effort by civil-rights groups in the Netherlands to bring Wilders to trial for repeated public statements attacking Muslims, RFE/RL reports.
