Violence fear over Dutch anti-Muslim film

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Dutch politician attempts to defy UK entry ban to show film critical of Qur'an

February 12, 2009 -- A plane carrying Geert Wilders, the rightwing Dutch politician accused of Islamophobia who is banned from entering the UK, touched down in London today.

Wilders was due to show his 17-minute film Fitna, which criticises the Qur'an as a "fascist book", at the House of Lords today but on Tuesday he received a letter from the Home Office refusing him entry because his opinions "threaten community security and therefore public security".

The controversial leader of the Freedom party, who arrived at Heathrow airport shortly after 2pm, told the BBC of his plans to travel in contravention of the ban earlier today, saying "Let's see what will happen." He added: "I was very surprised and very saddened that the freedom of speech that I believe was a very strong point in UK society is being harassed today."

It is understood that the controversial politician's passport will be flagged up at Heathrow immigration and he will be refused entry to Britain at that point.

Fitna intersperses images of the September 11 attacks with quotations from the Islamic holy book and its release last year sparked violent protests in the Muslim world. In 2007, Wilders called for the Qur'an to be banned and likened it to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. Last month, an Amsterdam court ruled that he should be prosecuted for inciting racial hatred but Wilders has launched an appeal against the decision.

The Dutch foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen, said the Dutch government would press for a reversal of the travel ban on Wilders, and a UK Independence party peer, Lord Pearson, who invited Wilders to Britain, said the screening of the film would go ahead today, whether he was there or not.

Speaking outside the House of Lords today, Pearson said he disagreed with some of Wilders' views but was "coming at this from the angle of free speech". Pearson described the Dutch politician as a "very brave man" and said he did not think he was a racist.

"I think this man is raising one of the most important issues of our time, which is Islamic militarism, which is a violent jihad," said Pearson. "That's the issue that this man is raising, and I think that should be discussed much more, particularly amongst the vast majority of the mild Muslim community."

The peer initially said he did not believe there should be any limits to freedom of speech but when pressed conceded that there should be "a very few", such as language that incited violence. Pearson said he believed a Hitler-type figure should be allowed to speak in public in Britain. "I would go and laugh at him. You couldn't take him seriously, could you?" he said.

The peer revealed he had put down a motion for debate in the House of Lords urging the government to sponsor a conference into whether the Old Testament, New Testament and Qur'an contained justification for violence.

The National Secular Society president, Terry Sanderson, said he wrote to the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, saying she should not have denied an application by a "democratically elected politician from a sovereign state who wants to come and express an opinion".

"It may be a controversial opinion but he is entitled to express it," he said.

The Home Office has said it would "stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country".

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain described Wilders as "an open and relentless preacher of hate".

"We have no problem with the challenge of criticisms to our faith, but the film that will be screened by Lord Pearson and Baroness Cox is nothing less than a cheap and tacky attempt to whip up hysteria against Muslims," he said.

The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne, said that while it was important to defend freedom of speech, Wilders "has overstepped the line that should be defended in a civilised society".

Wilders said he had already shown his film to Denmark's parliament and intended to take it to Italy and the US House of Representatives in the coming weeks.

[Al-khiyal]

Unwelcome Dutch lawmaker detained in Britain

LONDON, February 12, 2009 (AP) -- A Dutch lawmaker barred from Britain because of his anti-Islamic views says he has been detained at Heathrow Airport and will be returned home.

Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders sent the Associated Press a text message confirming he would be returned home within the hour.

The British government had warned Wilders he was not welcome because he posed a threat to community harmony and therefore public security.

But Wilders criticized the travel ban as an attempt to stifle freedom of speech and traveled to Britain on a point of principle.

Wilders is being prosecuted in the Netherlands for hate speech after calling for a ban on Islam's holy book, the Quran.

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Geert Wilders wins appeal against exclusion from UK

October 13, 2009 -- Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician, today won his appeal against the government's decision not to allow him into the UK. Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, was originally refused entry in February after arriving in London. He had been due to show his 17-minute film Fitna, which criticises the Qur'an as a "fascist book", at the House of Lords, but was turned away at Heathrow airport. The decision to refuse Wilders entry to the country, made by Jacqui Smith, then the home secretary, led to criticism of what was seen by some commentators as the silencing of free speech. The ruling by the asylum and immigration tribunal means that Wilders, who is accused of Islamophobia, could now be allowed into the country.

In initially refusing Wilders access, a letter sent to the politician by the Home Office, on behalf of Jacqui Smith, said his presence "would pose a genuine, present and significantly serious threat to one of the fundamental interests of society. The secretary of state is satisfied that your statements about Muslims and their beliefs, as expressed in the film and elsewhere, would threaten community harmony and therefore public safety in the UK." Today a Home Office spokesman said the government was "disappointed" by the ruling. He said: "The government opposes extremism is all its forms. The decision to refuse Wilders admission was taken on the basis that his presence could have inflamed tensions between our communities and have led to inter-faith violence. We still maintain this view."

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Far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders arrives in UK

October 16, 2009 -- The Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders expanded on his controversial views on Islam on arrival in the UK today and described the decision to allow him into the country as a "victory for the freedom of speech". At a press conference moved inside the Houses of Parliament because of fears for Wilders's safety, the Freedom party leader said that Islamic culture was inferior to western cultures. "I have a problem with the Islamic ideology, the Islamic culture, because I feel that the more Islam that we get in our societies the less freedom that we get," he said.

Wilders, who won an appeal this week against a decision to deny him entry, will not be screening his film Fitna, which criticises the Qur'an as a "fascist book", on this trip. The film had been intended to be shown at the House of Lords in February. He said he still intended to screen the film in the Lords in the future. "Being here is a victory," Wilders said. "Not a victory for myself but for the freedom of speech. It is ridiculous that the UK government thought my presence would in any way lead to violence. I have nothing to do with violence, I am no extremist, I am a politician who is democratically elected."

Wilders said he had "nothing against" Muslims, but had a problem with the "Islamification of our societies". "I am not extreme, I am not a racist," he said. "Don't forget some people were very angry when I made the comparison between Mein Kampf and the Qur'an. I am not the first one to make that comparison. Winston Churchill and many others made that comparison."

The Muslim Council of Britain described Wilders as a "relentless preacher of hate. The MCB neither condones nor condemns the decision to allow him into the United Kingdom, but it objects to the rapturous welcome he is receiving in the name of free speech," it said in a statement.

Two Twitter users were dismayed to find themselves travelling to London on the same plane as the Dutchman. "OMG my arch enemy Geert Wilders is on our plane," tweeted ishee, while xirdef went one letter further with his acronym: "Omfg I am aboard a plane with Geert Wilders, life can be cruel."

Wilders is in the UK to thank his lawyers and to meet Lord Pearson, the UKIP member of the House of Lords who originally invited him to screen the 17-minute Fitna. Wilders was refused entry to the UK through Heathrow in February after a letter sent on behalf of the then home secretary, Jacqui Smith, said his presence could lead to "inter-faith violence". On Tuesday the asylum and immigration tribunal, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, overturned the ruling, a decision said to have "disappointed" the Home Office.

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Geert Wilders anti-Islam film gets House of Lords screening

March 5, 2010 -- The controversial far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders appeared at the House of Lords today to screen an anti-Islam film and denounce the religion as "totalitarian" and incompatible with democracy. The visit, which was originally planned for last year, sparked demonstrations from anti-fascists and a show of support from the far-right English Defence League. Wilders, 46, who leads the Freedom party, was banned from the UK when Jacqui Smith was home secretary. She said his presence had the potential to "threaten community harmony and therefore public safety". Wilders succeeded in getting the ban overturned and told a press conference that he had screened his film in the Lords and discussed it afterwards in what he termed a "victory for freedom of speech". "I had to debate with people who disagreed with me and people who agreed with me," he said.

Wilders said he had "nothing against Muslims whatsoever" but Islam was a "totalitarian religion". "Islamism and democracy are incompatible. The more Islam we have, the more freedom we will lose and this is something worth fighting for." Wilders, whose film describes the Qur'an as a fascist book, has received death threats for denouncing Islam and has been under close protection for more than five years. This afternoon he repeated the views that have angered Muslims in Europe and across the globe, saying Islam was a "fascist ideology", "a violent and dangerous religion and a retarded culture". Wilders, who visited the Lords at the invitation of the UK Independence party leader Lord Pearson and the crossbencher Baroness Cox, said: "Cultural relativism is the greatest disease we face in Europe today."

Lord Pearson said that while he and Wilders – "a very great man" – agreed on many things he did not support his Dutch colleague's desire for the Qur'an to be outlawed. "If Geert is still calling for the Qur'an to be banned like Mein Kampf then I would not agree with him," he said. "[But] the Qur'an should be very much more discussed among the Muslim community."

When Wilders was asked whether he would engage with Muslims who reinterpreted their holy book in a manner more compatible with his views, he replied: "If you tear the hateful passages out of the Qur'an, you would get Donald Duck." In any case, he said, Muslims would never abandon the text of what he called "a terrible book". Lord Pearson denied suggestions that Wilders's visit had been a publicity stunt designed to woo those on the far right, saying it was a multi-party event. Asked how many people had attended the event in the Lords, he said "about half a dozen", adding that he was not aware of any objections or boycotts.

Wilders was escorted from the press conference as a crowd of about 100 protesters from Unite Against Fascism (UAF) demonstrated against both his visit and the presence nearby of the far-right English Defence League, who had turned out to welcome the Dutch politician. A large-scale police operation ensured that UAF and the EDL were kept well apart. While the anti-fascists were waving placards reading "EDL+BNP=Nazi racist thugs" and chanting "EDL, go to hell, and take your Nazi mates as well", members of the league were massing further up the Thames outside Tate Britain.

After waiting around for two hours outside the gallery and in a nearby pub, the 300 EDL demonstrators began marching towards Parliament Square just before 2.30pm. Flanked by mounted officers and escorted by a thick police line, the EDL members wore shirts bearing the names of their divisions – Glossop, Blackburn, Oldham, Stockport, Merseyside – and carried placards reading: "Gert [sic] Wilders, England salutes you" and "England needs a Gert [sic]". The point of the march appeared to have been lost on at least one EDL member. Spying a Dutch tricolour carried in salute to Wilders, he asked his fellow demonstrators: "What you got a French flag for?"