Why Geert Wilders' movie Fitna is acceptable to Europeans

The movie that everyone in the Netherlands has been talking about but nobody has seen yet is called Fitna. The coverage of this 10 minute movie by Dutch MP Geert Wilders has been immense, and not only in the Netherlands. Remember the ban on YouTube in Pakistan? And even NATO Boss Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is worried about the possible fallout of the movie.

Many Dutch MPs want the government to do a better job of communicating why the movie will not be banned at forehand. Dutch MP Alexander Pechthold explained it this way:

"The cabinet constantly warns Mr Wilders about the film's consequences. We should address ourselves more to other countries. Here we are accustomed to democracy and freedom of expression but not everyone abroad is.

Elsewhere fundamentalists seize on these sort of films to preach hatred against the West. We have to explain what our fundamental rights represent. Maybe the prime minister should explain the matter on Al Jazeera. Or Mr Ahmed Aboutaleb [the deputy minister for social affairs], who speaks Arabic."

The Netherlands should join forces with other European countries, which have a stake in it too:

"The protests sparked by the Danish cartoons, for example, show this can happen to any country. In fact, we should now form a common front at the EU Council of Ministers. Democracy and freedom of expression are European inventions. But it now looks like each country is left to fend for itself."

No word yet from the Dutch government if they will actually follow suit.

LINKS

- Radio Netherlands: Europe should explain Wilders to world
- NRC Handelsblad: De Hoop Scheffer warns of consequences Wilders film (Google translate from Dutch)
- Wikipedia: Film Fitna
- Wikipedia: Geert Wilders