Film equating Islam with violence spurs anger in Iran

Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Dutch ambassador to its offices in Tehran in protest at a “heinous and blasphemous” film produced by far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, Reuters reported on March 30.

The film intersperses images of 9/11, the London and Madrid bombings and other terrorist attacks with verses from the Quran. It concludes with the message “it’s up to the Muslims to cut the hate sowing parts out of the Quran. Stop Islam from penetrating. Defend our freedom.”

Outrage has been expressed in Muslim nations around the world. Indonesian representatives called the film an “insult to Islam, hidden under the cover of freedom of expression.” British-based website Liveleak.com removed the film after threats to its staff “of a very serious nature” but it can still be viewed on the video-sharing website YouTube.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has said the government believed the film “serves no purpose other than to cause offence. But feeling offended should never be used as an excuse for aggression and threats.”

EU foreign ministers condemned the film in a statement released after a meeting in Slovenia. “The film equates Islam with violence and this view is sharply rejected,” they said, while maintaining that free speech principles mean the author had a right to make it.

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