When Wilders showed the film in the Netherlands, it drew the wrath of the multi-cult left and Muslims across the world. Last year, prosecutors wouldn’t prosecute Wilders because the film is protected political speech or debate. That led the Islamic nation of Jordan to charge Wilders with blasphemy and contempt of Muslims.
In January, however, an appeals court ruled that Wilders must be prosecuted for making "statements which create hate and grief."
Grief is one thing Wilders offers Islamists. He has compared the religion to fascism and, citing Winston Churchill, says the Koran, Islam’s holy book, is comparable to Mein Kampf. The Dutch, he argues, should ban it.
Britain refused to permit Wilders to enter the country to show the film after Nazir Ahmed, a Muslim and Pakistani-born member of the House of Lords, complained. Wilders may also face charges in France, where the French human-rights crowd wants him prosecuted for a speech he gave in New York.
He committed his last polemical offense in Florida, but it doesn’t appear that any of the myriad countries targetting Wilders have filed charges on that one.
In May, a freedom of speech conference in Denmark, ironically enough, was postponed because Wilders was scheduled to appear. Wilders, however, remains undeterred. "It’s a political process," he said after the appeals court’s ruling. "I am being prosecuted for saying about Islam what millions of Dutch think. Freedom of expression is at risk of being offered at the altar of Islam."
Wilders also explains exactly what the decision represents: the further Islamization of The Netherlands and Europe. "I see this as a black day. If you voice you’re opinion, you run the risk of being prosecuted." Indeed. But that’s now. In 20 years, if you voice your opinion, you may run the risk of being beheaded by an Islamic state.
Photo: AP Images
R. Cort Kirkwood, managing editor of the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va., has been writing about American politics and culture for more than 20 years. Mr. Kirkwood has written for Chronicles, The New American, National Review, The Remnant, The Christian Science Monitor, The Wall Street Journal, The Baltimore Sun, The Orange County Register, Taki’s Top Drawer online magazine, and LewRockwell.com. For several years, he syndicated a column, “The Hard Line.” Mr. Kirkwood is the author of the nonfiction title, Real Men: Ten Courageous Americans To Know And Admire, published by Cumberland House.
