About the blonde man from Holland and his movie

I think the whole world would know by now who Geert Wilders is. In case you have not heard of this man before, he has been in the (international) news as the object of uproar within the Muslim world for making an anti-islam movie.

Before I continue further I believe in the freedom of religion as well as freedom of speech. (if not, I would not have started a blog ;)) Both are part of the Dutch constitution as article 6 and 7 respectively.

Geert Wilders’ goal for the movie is to show everyone how evil the Koran (the holy book of the Islam) is. He claims it to be a fascist book, that is out to spread hatred and condones killing non-believers. He wants to warn the world of the dangers of the Islam and the movie is his closing argument.

My opinion of this movie is that it is a devious device that will spread Islamophobia thoughout Holland and beyond. The device works in several stages:

• People who are uninformed see the film and it’s distasteful propaganda are installed with a seed of fear and distrust;
• Some Islamic followers will protest, some more verbal or graphic than others. It might lead to violence abroad against Dutch embassies, citizens and companies.
• Violent images gets boosted by the media;
• The seed of fear and distrust grows into the idea that all Muslims are a danger.

Especially the violent protest is important to this device; without it there is no ignition, no condemnation of thing Islamic. Of course Wilders can count on a violent reaction, but it has little to do with the Muslims being violent by nature.

• For one, the insult he is about to commit warrants a reaction from anyone that is affected. Would a God-fearing Christian not be angered by someone ridiculing Christ? I would believe so.
• Second, some people will resort to violence as a response because they are insulted to the bone. But this is not a reaction specific to the Muslim world; just look around and you see bar fights, violence in sports (on and off the sport field) and so on
• Third, some people will feel threatened by the message and could preemptively strike. Again, not something specific to Muslims; in the cold war the western world persecuted people who were to be socialists and communists, because they threatened our western democracy.

The dutch government has repeatedly warned Wilders about the results of this movie. They made it clear that freedom of speech is not without impunity; if you are going to insult someone be prepared for the consequences. If you know those consequences are also felt by Dutch interests and subjects you should be very responsible with your message, especially when you are in parlement and (at least claiming to) represent a part of the Dutch population.

Wilders response: “I was intimidated“.
This man is so hellbent on spreading fear uncertainty and doubt (FUD) amongst the people he will completely denounce responsibility for his public statements. He is in my opinion just hoping for shit to hit the fan because therein lies his benefit; anyone that would perish along the way his personal martyr.

I consider Wilders to be a danger. The reason why I think he is dangerous stems from the fact I paid attention in History class.
His tactics are similar to those adopted by Adolf Hitler. Hitler wrote his book, fed of the disgruntled feeling people had during the hard times of the 1930’s depression and gave it a face: the jew. He came to power using FUD tactics, the people gave him mandate and half a decade later over 6 million people were murdered.

Wilders uses the raw text of the Koran to point out the validity of his argument. He points to Theo van Gogh and 9/11 to say “See? I am right”.
He does not point to the bible (specifically the old Testament) where in comparison people are savages as well. He does not point out the crusades where so-called Christians using the same book murdered innocent people. He does not point out that even until a few decades ago Catholics and Protestants were murdering each other in Northern Ireland.

Wilders is in my opinion a world class xenophobe that will not stop until the west declares war on the Islam. Wilders only cares for one part of the constitution instead of its entirety, which is part of our identity; equal rights, freedom of expression and freedom of religion.

So everyone is now waiting for the movie and the expected subsequent reaction. Holland holds its breath and in angst awaits what is going to unfold. If Wilders did achieve anything it is to capture our nation in fear, and I loathe him for it.

The last thing I wish to say about this is, that it is your right to be angry if you are insulted. I just urge you to show it verbally rather than violently. That is all I wish for.