Should Wilders be censored?

DOSSIER
Linie

Last week’s Internet publication of the film
‘Fitna’ by the Dutch populist legislator Geert
Wilders provoked many reactions in the European
press. This short film intersperses violent
images of terrorism and executions carried out in
Muslim countries with verses from the Koran. Is
this kind of provocation defensible in the name
of the freedom of expression ?

Netherlands - De Volkskrant

The daily argues that Geert Wilders has a
hypocritical message. “‘Fitna’ is a propaganda
film that imitates all the methods used by
radical and authoritarian regimes to pit
communities against each other. The film ‘Fitna’
tries to push Dutch Muslims into a corner by
suggesting that violence and hate come directly
from the Koran. Thus, the film justifies Wilders’
program that seeks to ban the Koran and close
Islamic schools and Mosques. At the end of the
film, Wilders calls on Dutch Muslims to rip pages
from the Koran. In other words: Muslims cannot
become citizens in the full sense of the word
without rejecting the Koran. … With ‘Fitna,’
Wilders has done the debate around the
integration of Muslims in Dutch society a terrible service.” (29/03/2008)

Austria - Die Presse

Christian Ultsch describes ‘Fitna’ as a “crude
and uninspired propagandist short film” and
comments: “But more disturbing than this
disastrous film are the hysterical reactions to
it. Not only the Dutch government, but also the
EU presidency and the European Commission felt
obliged to condemn Mr Wilders’ filmic flatus in
an attempt to prevent another round of flag and
embassy-burning by outraged Muslims. Europe is
thus rashly yielding to the neurotic discourse of
frustrated and aggressive activists. And indeed,
on Friday night it wasn’t long before politicians
from Jordan to Iran were making angry demands for
the film to be banned. But that’s going too far:
in Europe, freedom of expression must mean that
even tasteless rubbish like Wilders’ pamphlet can
circulate freely - and pronounce its own death sentence.” (31/03/2008)

Slovakia - Pravda

Miloslav Surgos has mixed feelings about Wilders’
film. “Freedom of expression is one of the
fundamental freedoms of Western civilisation. But
there’s a problem. This film is not about freedom
of expression. … The author creates tensions
between the West and Muslims while acting solely
in his own interest. He is deliberately
provocative and constantly pushing against legal
limits. This increases his political popularity.
Moreover, he has rather unfortunate opinions on
the freedom of others, repeatedly proposing
banning the Koran in the Netherlands. ” (31/03/2008)

Denmark - Politiken

The Danish daily writes that “clever” Dutch imams
and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen
are right to remain silent on the subject of the
anti-Islam film “Fitna”. “If this miserable piece
of work triggers a media debate and political
reactions, it will only be because of the
‘cartoon row’. Here in Denmark the polarised
discussion and Muslim death threats have led many
people to forget that defending the right to
freedom of expression is no excuse to switch off
one’s brain and forget the difference between
argument and propaganda, between public
discussion and hate-fulled vilification. ” (29/03/2008)

France - Libération

Following the appearance of Geert Wilders’ film
on the internet, Dominique Sopo, president of SOS
Racisme, objects to “the weakness or the
unbelievable character of the reactions of some
states. The political reactions of the European
states have clearly failed. There is an inability
to call Wilders what he is (a character who plays
on racism and not a libertarian hellion). There
is an inability to prevent this dark story from
becoming the subject of a stupefying
international debate. There is an inability to
bring to an end this religious prism through
which immigrant and foreign populations are seen.
Regarding Muslim countries, the reactions are
equally surprising. The governments of these
countries are ‘obliged,’ one after another, to
pronounce on the mediocre diatribe of an obscure
member of parliament.” (31/03/2008)