Muslim
Intimidation And Free Speech In Europe
The Bulletin ^ | January 30, 2009 | Joseph Puder
The Muslims in Europe have succeeded in
intimidating European governments into stifling free speech. Not however free
speech for Muslim radicals who seek to Islamize Europe and eventually the
Geert Wilders, the Dutch parliamentarian (Freedom Party) has
exposed the Islamist’s agenda, and now faces prosecution by the Amsterdam Court
of Appeals for statements they deem “insulting and harmful to the religious
esteem of Muslims.”
Mr. Wilders is being persecuted for his courage to
speak the truth in contrast to the cowardly and intellectually dishonest Dutch
political elites and the media who accommodate themselves to life as defined by
the Islamists.
Mr. Wilders’ film “Fitna”
boldly presents the nature of Islamic radicalism and is intended to be a
warning to the Europeans. Mr. Wilders’ primary offense is his call for a ban on
the Qur’an. “The Qur’an,” he says, “is a fascist book which incites violence
that is why this book, just like Mein Kampf must be banned.” And while Mr. Wilders is being
prosecuted for “inciting hate,” Dutch authorities in the name of
multiculturalism lamely excuse the imams, who are defiantly calling for the murder
of non-believers.
The Dutch authorities’ shameless appeasement of
the Muslim community is indicative of the total loss of pride by the Europeans
in general and the Dutch in particular. They no longer value the preservation
of their own culture and thus have made multiculturalism their new ultimate
value. Christianity is dead or dying a slow death in Europe, as is the native
European demography, and while the mosques in the
On Nov. 2, 2004, a Moroccan Muslim murdered Dutch
filmmaker Theo van Gogh, in broad daylight on a busy
Mr. van Gogh was not the first victim of Muslim
“justice” in
Prior to Mr. Fortuyn’s
meteoric rise, Dutch politics had been dominated by a leftist brand of
politics, in what was basically a closed club whose members shared the same multiculturalists views. Mr. Fortuyn
broke the mold by openly expressing concern about the rapid Muslim influx into
the
As a professor of Sociology, Mr. Fortuyn was able to see through the catastrophic policies
of the Dutch government. Mr. Fortuyn recognized the
rise of fundamentalist Islam in
While the Dutch Intelligence services pressured
Mr. Wilders to “tone down his rhetoric,” another Dutch
parliamentarian-Somalia-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali was forced to flee the
What is significant in Mr. Wilders’ case is that
he is not being prosecuted for inciting violence, but for “insulting and
harming the esteem of Islamic worshippers.” The Dallas Morning News summed it
up best. Rod Dreher wrote, “It is infuriating to
watch the politically correct Dutch establishment sell out free speech to
appease an obstreperous (Muslim) minority…this is all about sacrificing free
speech and civil liberty to buy social peace...”
It remains to be seen if the politically correct
Dutch authorities would dare to prosecute Dutch Muslims who a month ago, during
an anti-Israel rally in support of Hamas shouted, “Hamas, Hamas, and “Jews to the
gas.” The authorities passively watched this violent Muslim demonstration like
many others throughout