Refugee who became Dutch MP defies Islam with film about Koran

krsna · September 3, 2004

Daily Telegraph (UK), Aug. 31, 2004

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Brussels

After describing the Prophet Mohammed as a pervert, Ayaan Hirsi Ali already needs round-the-clock protection from the Dutch security services.

Now the Muslim apostate and rising star of Dutch politics has pushed her luck even further with a film exhibiting verses of the Koran across the chest, stomach and thighs of an almost naked girl.

Mrs Hirsi Ali, who has risen from Somali asylum seeker to Dutch MP in 12 years, produced the film broadcast on Dutch television on Sunday night to highlight the continued oppression of Muslim women in Europe.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Behind the Veil: A Muslim Woman Speaks Out

Somali refugee follows in Fortuyn's footsteps with attack on imams

RealPlayer: Segment of Dutch-language news background and analysis program, NOVA, with segments of the English-language film, Submission. 6'23'' Broadband Dialup

The 11-minute programme, Submission, depicts a young Muslim girl confronting Allah at prayer in a mosque. She wears the veil, covering most of the face, but her voluptuous body is clearly visible through a transparent gown.

"All praise to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds," begins the text painted across the actress's throat, which then scrolls down her bare chest. It is taken from the fatiha or opening of the Koran, the lines recited aloud by men, and silently by women, at Muslim prayer five times a day throughout the world.

Four other women act out scenes of torment and repression. One battered victim in a torn dress, exposes her shoulders and arms covered with lash wounds and the text of Verse 34, Chapter 4, The Women.

"Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made them excel and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient. Those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them," it says.

The broadcast was watched by 750,000 people, a large audience in a country of 16 million. An estimated one million are Muslims of Turkish or North African origin.

Mrs Hirsi Ali, 34, an MP for the free-market Liberals, has emerged as the unlikely heir of Pim Fortuyn, the homosexual firebrand who launched a mass movement to defend Holland's easy-going way of life against radical imams.

While shunning his party, she has pursued his message, denouncing the country's 30-year experiment with multiculturalism - including 700 Islamic clubs funded by the taxpayer - as a disastrous error born of "misplaced guilt".

Low-level fatwas - or death edicts - have been raining down since she attacked Islam as a medieval, misogynist cult incapable of self-criticism and blind to modern science.

Mrs Hirsi Ali said she chose the naked body formula to open up the opaque world of Islam and show that there is a human being behind the veil.

Steven Huismans, the director of Holland's Institute for Multicultural Development, said: "What she is doing is really provocative." Nabil Marouch, the head of the Dutch wing of the Arabic European League, said: "If the public keeps listening to Ayaan Hirsi, it will do great damage to integration."

But Mrs Hirsi Ali has become immensely popular among the ordinary Dutch, people who have been shocked by the sudden emergence of large Muslim enclaves in their cities - often with ties to militant anti-western groups. A parliamentary report this year found that more than 70 per cent of Dutch-born Muslims were bringing in spouses from their home countries, perpetuating a separatist sub-culture.

Mrs Hirsi Ali arrived in Holland as a penniless refugee in 1992 after sneaking across the German border to escape a forced marriage to a Somali kinsman. She did not speak a word of Dutch. Finding jobs as a cleaner, she went on to study political science at Leiden University.

Her ambition now is nothing less than a reformation of Islam.

krsna · November 2, 2004

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3974179.stm

Kulapavana · November 2, 2004

you can come up with a nice horror movies if you just stick to the Old Testament - and then again, you can make nice inspirational movies based on the material from the same book.

religious bigotry is inherent to the common interpretations of Torah (Old Testament) - all 3 main western religions have that very same root (Judaism, Christianity and Islam).

The religious bigotry we see in our own movement has it's source in the "semitic" mind set we grew up with.

stonehearted · November 2, 2004

Kulapavana:

The religious bigotry we see in our own movement has it's source in the "semitic" mind set we grew up with.

That seems a superficial analysis, and one that may be easily misunderstood. More essentially, religious bigotry is due to our false ego and timeless habit of investing our sense of identity in made-up labels (upadhi). The "semitic" mind set you refer to is simply one expression of that false ego. Intolerance could also be seen in some Hindu groups, as when the orthodox Hindus in Bengal sicced the Kazi on Mahaprabhu's followers.

Kulapavana · November 2, 2004

"More essentially, religious bigotry is due to our false ego and timeless habit of investing our sense of identity in made-up labels (upadhi)"

false ego can take many flavors, some much worse than others. association usually creates a particular flavor. as to labels, they are just about indispensable for neophyte devotees like myself.

and btw: were there any Vaishnava - Shivaite "holy wars"? or Hindu - Buddhist "holy wars"? No? why do you think that was? different flavor of ahankara?

I know my analysis in NOT politically correct. Sometimes facts are not as tidy as we would like.

krsna · November 2, 2004

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3975211.stm

stonehearted · November 2, 2004

Kulapavana:[quote}and btw: were there any Vaishnava - Shivaite "holy wars"? or Hindu - Buddhist "holy wars"? No?

krsna · November 3, 2004

"There are nearly 1 million Muslims in the Netherlands, about 5.5 percent of the population, and recent opinion polls suggest that many Dutch citizens feel threatened by their presence."

stonehearted · November 3, 2004

Not all! Actually, there are very few Muslims here on the Big Island. However, when I taught in San Diego, I had many Muslim students, and they were all very nice folks who were very tolerant of others' beliefs. Although they missed their home countries, they were grateful for the opportunities afforded them and their families in the US. I sometimes let one of them use my office for prayer. I also had a student, a young woman, who was an orthodox Jew. On a couple of occasions she had to leave her home before doing her morning prayer, and I let her use my office on those occasions.

How about you. Do you feel threatened by the presence of Muslims?

theist · November 3, 2004

The justifiable suspicion that out of 100 that you meet 2 or 3 may be planning some horrific event. No way to tell who those two are.

I am left uneasy by the Muslim silence on the whole terrorist question. Silence means agreement. But it couls also be influence by their uneasiness and wanting to maintain a low profile. It's hard to say. And that unknowing breeds suspicion.

This in itself is dangerous. Suspicion breeds fear. Fear when reaching a certain level will breed violence out of an activation of our defense propensity. Innocents get hurt and then a rift deepens and widens. That which was intially feared erronously now becomes real.

All situations that become manifest had their origin on the mental plane.

The material involvment is a self perpetuating mess.

krsna · November 6, 2004

Dutch crackdown risks hurting mainstream Muslims

06 Nov 2004 15:11:38 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Marcel Michelson

AMSTERDAM, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Dutch government plans to crack down on Islamic extremists after the killing of a filmmaker critical of Islam, but politicians and intellectuals said on Saturday it must preserve the openness of Dutch society.

An opinion poll showed that a large majority of those questioned wanted extra measures to combat extremism, and almost as many felt that Tuesday's killing showed that Dutch society had changed fundamentally.

Deputy Prime Minister Gerrit Zalm, announcing a review of security after a government meeting on Friday, spoke of "war" following the killing of filmmaker Theo van Gogh and death threats to politicians Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders, now in hiding.

"We in return declare war, we will step up the fight and make sure radical Islamist movements will disappear from the Netherlands," he said. "This is not just theoretical, but practical extremism and that is new for the Netherlands."

A 26-year-old Dutch-Moroccan, identified in the media as Mohammed B., has been charged with murder and membership of a group with "terrorist intentions". When arrested, he was carrying a pamphlet with a death threat against Hirsi Ali.

A five-page letter was found pinned to Van Gogh's body.

Islamic experts said their style and content were close to those of Al-Takfir wal Hijra, a radical Islamic group that has declared war on western unbelievers.

The newspaper Volkskrant said in an editorial on Saturday the government must be careful about the use of words like "war" and "jihad". "The bigger the words, the greater the chance that more Muslims will feel themselves pushed into a corner."

"The open character of our democracy is also its weakness. That can be diminished but never abandoned," it said.

More than five percent of the Dutch population are Muslim.

The mass-circulation . Telegraaf also urged caution: "Now that extremists have declared war here, our country and our citizens cannot escape doing the same to them, without at the same time turning the entire Islamist part of our population into suspects."

SOCIETY CHANGED FOR EVER

An opinion poll of 400 people in the Algemeen Dagblad showed that some 81 percent backed extra measures to combat Islamic extremism and some 79 percent felt the killing of Van Gogh showed that Dutch society had changed for ever.

Another poll showed that Wilders, who left the liberal VVD party to set up his own group because he opposes Turkish EU membership, would win seven seats in elections now -- four more than last week.

Lodewijk Asscher, Labour party leader in Amsterdam, wrote in . Volkskrant that there was a widening gap between a new 'them' and 'us'; "'We' are Christians, Jews, Muslims and atheists. 'They' are the fanatics who want to destroy our world."

Hafid Bouazza, a Dutch Moroccan writer, said in Algemeen Dagblad the Dutch had too long regarded all Moroccans as one group and should instead try to isolate radicals and put the spotlight on mosques, long seen as unassailable havens for Muslims.

"When an imam fulminates and calls for violence, the answer should be simple -- if you think the Netherlands is such a bad place, pick up your bags and go!" Bouazza said.

Greens party leader Femke Halsema said that Islam itself deserved respect. "Where Islam is mixed with violent fundamentalism we need to set strict limits. But for the rest, Islam as a religion should be treated like any other religion in the Netherlands."

theist · November 6, 2004

that some Islamofacist killed one of those that was questioning their fundemental views of Islam in the Netherlands.

Maybe they are the reason Islam has gottewn a bad name.

theist · November 6, 2004

Murder of Dutch Filmmaker Throws Nation into Crisis

22:22 Nov 06, '04 / 22 Cheshvan 5765

(IsraelNN.com) Dutch authorities are treating with extraordinary caution the gruesome murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh on an Amsterdam street on November 2. The 26-year-old suspect, caught by police along with seven alleged accomplices shortly after the act, is only identified as "Mohammed B." He has dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality, and officials say that he "acted from a radical Islamic conviction." Van Gogh, 47, was shot several times from close range and his throat was slit. A note in Arabic stuck to his chest with a knife called for jihad and threatened to kill Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born refugee who is a member of . and an outspoken critic of Islam. To protest the attack, some 20,000 people converged on Amsterdam's central square.

In August, van Gogh released a fictional film about the mistreatment of Muslim women, who were shown naked with texts from the Koran scrawled on their bodies. He received numerous death threats.

News agencies describe him as a widely published columnist, television producer, and provocative commentator who often used offensive language. Justice Minister Jan Piet Hein Donner and Interior Minister Johan Remkes have urged calm but fears are widespread that the murder will worsen Dutch race relations, tense since the murder of anti-immigration populist Pim Fortuyn in May 2002. Close to one million Muslim immigrants and their descendants live in the Netherlands. The press calls van Gogh's murder the first act of Islamic terror on Dutch soil. (Bigotry Monitor -- UCSJ's weekly newsletter)

krsna · November 9, 2004

Dutch Islamic School Bombed in Anti-Muslim Violence in Netherlands

Lauren Comiteau, Voice of America, November 8, 2004

Dutch police suspect that an explosion overnight at an Islamic school in the city of Eindhoven could be linked to last week's murder of controversial filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Lauren Comiteau reports from Amsterdam on the continuing violence in the wake of the van Gogh murder.

The school's entrance was severely damaged and nearby windows were blown out, but no one was hurt in the early-morning explosion. Eindhoven Mayor Alexander Sakkers says officials are reaching out to shocked neighborhood residents.

The mayor says, "We can not let a couple of idiots ruin our community." He says city officials will find a political way to solve the problems.

His police chief, meanwhile, says his forces are working to solve the case as quickly as possible.

Security has been increased in Eindhoven since Mr. van Gogh's murder in Amsterdam early last week. Now, more will be added.

An alleged Islamic militant has been arrested for the killing, along with several alleged accomplices, all of whom are also suspected of being Islamic militants.

The filmmaker outraged Muslims with a recent short film depicting violence against women in the Muslim community - in particular by showing texts from the Koran scrawled on their bodies.

Eindhoven's arson incident is one of four that were attempted during the weekend. Three others at mosques around the country were unsuccessful, but police made some arrests in one town.

In Rotterdam, a city with a large Muslim immigrant population, a pig head and a sign with insulting slogans were left at a fourth mosque.

Since last week's murder, there have been death threats against politicians and calls from Dutch officials to expand the security service. One politician has announced plans to start a new right-wing, anti-immigration party.

gHari · November 9, 2004

All the mosques in the free world will be destroyed. It will become too dangerous for Muslims to remain outside the desert; and in the desert they will have to live in civil strife with their own lust and greed. Islam is dead.