Dutch MP’s Film Outrages Indonesians

By Barrie | April 1st, 2008 | No Comments

Dozens of Indonesians have demonstrated outside the Dutch embassy in Jakarta over a Dutch MP’s film that has outraged many Muslims. Some protesters hurled eggs and plastic water bottles at the embassy as riot police formed a wall to keep them away. Geert Wilders, leader of the right-wing Freedom Party (PVV) in the Netherlands, released the 17-minute film Fitna (”Strife”) on the internet last week. Showing scenes of terrorist attacks, it claims the Koran inspires violence. Hundreds of Indonesian school students also demonstrated against the film in central Java on Sunday.

Demonstrators in Jakarta on Monday - from the Muslim group Islamic Defenders Front - held placards saying “Geert Wilders is a Christian terrorist”, “Kill Geert Wilders” and “Holland go to hell!” Iran protested to the Dutch ambassador in Tehran on Sunday. Iran’s foreign ministry called the film “insulting and anti-Islamic”. The film shows graphic images of terrorist attacks, including the destruction of the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 and the London and Madrid train bombings, interspersed with verses from the Koran. The film ends with someone turning pages of a Koran, followed by a tearing sound. It concludes: “Stop Islamisation. Defend our freedom.”

Fitna has been condemned by the Dutch government and Dutch broadcasters have avoided showing it. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called it “offensively anti-Islamic”.

Mr Wilders has received death threats and is under constant police protection.

Source: BBC