Geert Wilders, member of the Dutch Parliament.
Man, this guy is great:
"I hate political correctness, in the way that I am not a
cultural relativist. I don't believe that cultures are equal, I
believe that our culture is far better than the retarded Islamic
culture."
<object width="425" height="344">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j0jUuzdfqfc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object>
Man, this guy is great:
"I hate political correctness, in the way that I am not a
cultural relativist. I don't believe that cultures are equal, I
believe that our culture is far better than the retarded Islamic
culture."
<object width="425" height="344">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j0jUuzdfqfc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object>
Part two:
Geert Wilders (Voted most popular politician in Holland)
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Geert Wilders (Voted most popular politician in Holland)
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0W6twYw4E8w&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0W6twYw4E8w&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
15 March 2008
Geert Wilders speech to Hollands Parliament
Article courtesy of Mrs TG
Can you imagine what would happen if a British politician had the guts to stand up in Parliament and say what Geert Wilders is saying, he would probably have his head cut of there and then by the Dhimmis in Parliament on behalf of their Islamic Kingdom that they are nurturing upon the British homeland. LH
Is Europe waking up? Guess who aren't too pleased - MCB amongst others!
Geert Wilder's speech to Holland's Parliament
"Madam Speaker, allow me, first, to express my sincere thanks to you personally for having planned a debate on Islam on the very day of my birthday. I could not have wished for a nicer present! Madam Speaker, approximately 1400 years ago war was declared on us by an ideology of hate and violence which arose at the time and was proclaimed by a barbarian who called himself the Prophet Mohammed.
I am referring to Islam.
Madam Speaker, let me start with the foundation of the Islamic faith, the Koran. The Koran's core theme is about the duty of all Muslims to fight non-Muslims; an Islamic Mein Kampf, in which fight means war, jihad. The Koran is above all a book of war, a call to butcher non-Muslims (2:191, 3:141, 4:91, 5:3), to roast them (4:56, 69:30-69:32), and to cause bloodbaths amongst them (47:4). Jews are compared to monkeys and pigs (2:65, 5:60, 7:166), while people who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God must according to the Koran be fought (9:30).
Madam Speaker, the West has no problems with Jews or Christians, but it does have problems with Islam. It is still possible, even today, for Muslims to view the Koran, which they regard as valid for all time, as a licence to kill. And that is exactly what happens. The Koran is worded in such a way that its instructions are addressed to Muslims for eternity, which includes today's Muslims. This in contrast to texts in the Bible, which is formulated as a number of historical narratives, placing events in a distant past. Let us remind ourselves that it was Muslims, not Jews or Christians, who committed the catastrophic terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid and London; and that it was no coincidence that Theo van Gogh was brutally murdered by a Muslim, Mohammed Bouyeri.
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge that there are people who call themselves Muslims and who respect our laws. My party, the Freedom Party, has nothing against such people, of course. However, the Koran does have something against them. For it is stated in the Koran in Sura 2, verse 85, that those believers who do not believe in everything the Koran states will be humiliated and receive the severest punishment; which means that they will roast in Hell. In other words, people who call themselves Muslims but who do not believe, for example, in Sura 9, verse 30, which states that Jews and Christians must be fought, or, for example, in Sura 5, verse 38, which states that the hand of a thief must be cut off, such people will be humiliated and roast in Hell. Note that it is not me who is making this up. All this can be found in the Koran. The Koran also states that Muslims who believe in only part of the Koran are in fact apostates, and we know what has to happen to apostates. They have to be killed.
Madam Speaker, the Koran is a book that incites to violence. I remind the House that the distribution of such texts is unlawful according to Article 132 of our Penal Code. In addition, the Koran incites to hatred and calls for murder and mayhem. The distribution of such texts is made punishable by Article 137(e). The Koran is therefore a highly dangerous book; a book which is completely against our legal order and our democratic institutions. In this light, it is an absolute necessity that the Koran be banned for the defence and reinforcement of our civilisation and our constitutional state. I shall propose a second-reading motion to that effect.
Madam Speaker, there is no such thing as "moderate Islam".... As Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said the other day, and I quote, "There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that's it".... Islam is in pursuit of dominance. It wishes to exact its imperialist agenda by force on a worldwide scale (8:39). This is clear from European history. Fortunately, the first Islamic invasion of Europe was stopped at Poitiers in 732; the second in Vienna in 1683. Madam Speaker, let us ensure that the third Islamic invasion, which is currently in full spate, will be stopped too in spite of its insidious nature and notwithstanding the fact that, in contrast to the 8th and 17th centuries, it has no need for an Islamic army because the scared "dhimmis" in the West, also those in Dutch politics, have left their doors wide open to Islam and Muslims.
Apart from conquest, Madam Speaker, Islam is also bent on installing a totally different form of law and order, namely Sharia law. This makes Islam, apart from a religion for hundreds of millions of Muslims also, and in particular, a political ideology (with political/constitutional/Islamic basic values, etc). Islam is an ideology without any respect for others; not for Christians, not for Jews, not for non-believers and not for apostates. Islam aims to dominate, subject, kill and wage war.
Madam Speaker, the Islamic incursion must be stopped. Islam is the Trojan Horse in Europe. If we do not stop Islamification now, Eurabia and Netherabia will just be a matter of time. One century ago, there were approximately 50 Muslims in the Netherlands. Today, there are about 1 million Muslims in this country. Where will it end? We are heading for the end of European and Dutch civilisation as we know it. Where is our Prime Minister in all this? In reply to my questions in the House he said, without batting an eyelid, that there is no question of our country being Islamified. Now, this reply constituted a historical error as soon as it was uttered. Very many Dutch citizens, Madam Speaker, experience the presence of Islam around them. And I can report that they have had enough of burkas, headscarves, the ritual slaughter of animals, so-called honour revenge, blaring minarets, female circumcision, hymen restoration operations, abuse of homosexuals, Turkish and Arabic on the buses and trains as well as on town hall leaflets, halal meat at grocery shops and department stores, Sharia exams, the Finance Minister's Sharia mortgages, and the enormous over representation of Muslims in the area of crime, including Moroccan street terrorists.
In spite of all this, Madam Speaker, there is hope. Fortunately. The majority of Dutch citizens have become fully aware of the danger, and regard Islam as a threat to our culture. My party, the Freedom Party, takes those citizens seriously and comes to their defence.
Many Dutch citizens are fed up to the back teeth and yearn for action. However, their representatives in The Hague are doing precisely nothing. They are held back by fear, political correctness or simply electoral motives. This is particularly clear in the case of PvdA, the Dutch Labour Party, which is afraid of losing Muslim voters. The Prime Minister said in Indonesia the other day that Islam does not pose any danger. Minister Donner believes that Sharia law should be capable of being introduced in the Netherlands if the majority want it. Minister Vogelaar babbles about the future Netherlands as a country with a Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition, and that she aims to help Islam take root in Dutch society. In saying this, the Minister shows that she has obviously gone stark raving mad. She is betraying Dutch culture and insulting Dutch citizens.
Madam Speaker, my party, the Freedom Party, demands that Minister Vogelaar retract her statement. If the Minister fails to do so, the Freedom Party parliamentary group will withdraw its support for her. No Islamic tradition must ever be established in the Netherlands: not now and also not in a few centuries' time.
Madam Speaker, let me briefly touch on the government's response to the WRR [Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy] report. On page 12 of its response, the government states that Islam is not contrary to democracy or human rights. All I can say to that is that things can't get much more idiotic than this.
Madam Speaker, it is a few minutes to twelve. If we go on like this, Islam will herald the end of our Western civilisation as well as Dutch culture.
I would like to round off my first-reading contribution with a personal appeal to the Prime Minister on behalf of a great many Dutch citizens: stop the Islamification of the Netherlands!
Mr Balkenende, a historic task rests on your shoulders. Be courageous. Do what many Dutch citizens are screaming out for. Do what the country needs. Stop all immigration from Muslim countries, ban all building of new mosques, close all Islamic schools, ban burkas and the Koran. Expel all criminal Muslims from the country, including those Moroccan street terrorists that drive people mad. Accept your responsibility! Stop Islamification!
Enough is enough, Mr Balkenende. Enough is enough."
Geert Wilders speech to Hollands Parliament
Article courtesy of Mrs TGCan you imagine what would happen if a British politician had the guts to stand up in Parliament and say what Geert Wilders is saying, he would probably have his head cut of there and then by the Dhimmis in Parliament on behalf of their Islamic Kingdom that they are nurturing upon the British homeland. LH
Is Europe waking up? Guess who aren't too pleased - MCB amongst others!
Geert Wilder's speech to Holland's Parliament
"Madam Speaker, allow me, first, to express my sincere thanks to you personally for having planned a debate on Islam on the very day of my birthday. I could not have wished for a nicer present! Madam Speaker, approximately 1400 years ago war was declared on us by an ideology of hate and violence which arose at the time and was proclaimed by a barbarian who called himself the Prophet Mohammed.
I am referring to Islam.
Madam Speaker, let me start with the foundation of the Islamic faith, the Koran. The Koran's core theme is about the duty of all Muslims to fight non-Muslims; an Islamic Mein Kampf, in which fight means war, jihad. The Koran is above all a book of war, a call to butcher non-Muslims (2:191, 3:141, 4:91, 5:3), to roast them (4:56, 69:30-69:32), and to cause bloodbaths amongst them (47:4). Jews are compared to monkeys and pigs (2:65, 5:60, 7:166), while people who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God must according to the Koran be fought (9:30).
Madam Speaker, the West has no problems with Jews or Christians, but it does have problems with Islam. It is still possible, even today, for Muslims to view the Koran, which they regard as valid for all time, as a licence to kill. And that is exactly what happens. The Koran is worded in such a way that its instructions are addressed to Muslims for eternity, which includes today's Muslims. This in contrast to texts in the Bible, which is formulated as a number of historical narratives, placing events in a distant past. Let us remind ourselves that it was Muslims, not Jews or Christians, who committed the catastrophic terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid and London; and that it was no coincidence that Theo van Gogh was brutally murdered by a Muslim, Mohammed Bouyeri.
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge that there are people who call themselves Muslims and who respect our laws. My party, the Freedom Party, has nothing against such people, of course. However, the Koran does have something against them. For it is stated in the Koran in Sura 2, verse 85, that those believers who do not believe in everything the Koran states will be humiliated and receive the severest punishment; which means that they will roast in Hell. In other words, people who call themselves Muslims but who do not believe, for example, in Sura 9, verse 30, which states that Jews and Christians must be fought, or, for example, in Sura 5, verse 38, which states that the hand of a thief must be cut off, such people will be humiliated and roast in Hell. Note that it is not me who is making this up. All this can be found in the Koran. The Koran also states that Muslims who believe in only part of the Koran are in fact apostates, and we know what has to happen to apostates. They have to be killed.
Madam Speaker, the Koran is a book that incites to violence. I remind the House that the distribution of such texts is unlawful according to Article 132 of our Penal Code. In addition, the Koran incites to hatred and calls for murder and mayhem. The distribution of such texts is made punishable by Article 137(e). The Koran is therefore a highly dangerous book; a book which is completely against our legal order and our democratic institutions. In this light, it is an absolute necessity that the Koran be banned for the defence and reinforcement of our civilisation and our constitutional state. I shall propose a second-reading motion to that effect.
Madam Speaker, there is no such thing as "moderate Islam".... As Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said the other day, and I quote, "There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that's it".... Islam is in pursuit of dominance. It wishes to exact its imperialist agenda by force on a worldwide scale (8:39). This is clear from European history. Fortunately, the first Islamic invasion of Europe was stopped at Poitiers in 732; the second in Vienna in 1683. Madam Speaker, let us ensure that the third Islamic invasion, which is currently in full spate, will be stopped too in spite of its insidious nature and notwithstanding the fact that, in contrast to the 8th and 17th centuries, it has no need for an Islamic army because the scared "dhimmis" in the West, also those in Dutch politics, have left their doors wide open to Islam and Muslims.
Apart from conquest, Madam Speaker, Islam is also bent on installing a totally different form of law and order, namely Sharia law. This makes Islam, apart from a religion for hundreds of millions of Muslims also, and in particular, a political ideology (with political/constitutional/Islamic basic values, etc). Islam is an ideology without any respect for others; not for Christians, not for Jews, not for non-believers and not for apostates. Islam aims to dominate, subject, kill and wage war.
Madam Speaker, the Islamic incursion must be stopped. Islam is the Trojan Horse in Europe. If we do not stop Islamification now, Eurabia and Netherabia will just be a matter of time. One century ago, there were approximately 50 Muslims in the Netherlands. Today, there are about 1 million Muslims in this country. Where will it end? We are heading for the end of European and Dutch civilisation as we know it. Where is our Prime Minister in all this? In reply to my questions in the House he said, without batting an eyelid, that there is no question of our country being Islamified. Now, this reply constituted a historical error as soon as it was uttered. Very many Dutch citizens, Madam Speaker, experience the presence of Islam around them. And I can report that they have had enough of burkas, headscarves, the ritual slaughter of animals, so-called honour revenge, blaring minarets, female circumcision, hymen restoration operations, abuse of homosexuals, Turkish and Arabic on the buses and trains as well as on town hall leaflets, halal meat at grocery shops and department stores, Sharia exams, the Finance Minister's Sharia mortgages, and the enormous over representation of Muslims in the area of crime, including Moroccan street terrorists.
In spite of all this, Madam Speaker, there is hope. Fortunately. The majority of Dutch citizens have become fully aware of the danger, and regard Islam as a threat to our culture. My party, the Freedom Party, takes those citizens seriously and comes to their defence.
Many Dutch citizens are fed up to the back teeth and yearn for action. However, their representatives in The Hague are doing precisely nothing. They are held back by fear, political correctness or simply electoral motives. This is particularly clear in the case of PvdA, the Dutch Labour Party, which is afraid of losing Muslim voters. The Prime Minister said in Indonesia the other day that Islam does not pose any danger. Minister Donner believes that Sharia law should be capable of being introduced in the Netherlands if the majority want it. Minister Vogelaar babbles about the future Netherlands as a country with a Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition, and that she aims to help Islam take root in Dutch society. In saying this, the Minister shows that she has obviously gone stark raving mad. She is betraying Dutch culture and insulting Dutch citizens.
Madam Speaker, my party, the Freedom Party, demands that Minister Vogelaar retract her statement. If the Minister fails to do so, the Freedom Party parliamentary group will withdraw its support for her. No Islamic tradition must ever be established in the Netherlands: not now and also not in a few centuries' time.
Madam Speaker, let me briefly touch on the government's response to the WRR [Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy] report. On page 12 of its response, the government states that Islam is not contrary to democracy or human rights. All I can say to that is that things can't get much more idiotic than this.
Madam Speaker, it is a few minutes to twelve. If we go on like this, Islam will herald the end of our Western civilisation as well as Dutch culture.
I would like to round off my first-reading contribution with a personal appeal to the Prime Minister on behalf of a great many Dutch citizens: stop the Islamification of the Netherlands!
Mr Balkenende, a historic task rests on your shoulders. Be courageous. Do what many Dutch citizens are screaming out for. Do what the country needs. Stop all immigration from Muslim countries, ban all building of new mosques, close all Islamic schools, ban burkas and the Koran. Expel all criminal Muslims from the country, including those Moroccan street terrorists that drive people mad. Accept your responsibility! Stop Islamification!
Enough is enough, Mr Balkenende. Enough is enough."
Dutch anti-Islam leader is major winner in polls
By Reed Stevenson and Aaron Gray-Block
Reuters
Wednesday, March 3, 2010; 9:54 PM
AMSTERDAM/THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Dutch anti-Islamist leader Geert Wilders scored major gains in local authority polls Thursday, making him a serious challenger for power in a June national election, preliminary results showed.
In the first test of public opinion since the collapse of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's coalition government last month, Wilders's Freedom Party (PVV) led in the city of Almere and was second in The Hague.
The results came on top of an opinion poll showing that the PVV, which campaigns against Muslim immigration as its main platform, would win the most seats -- 27 in the 150-member Dutch parliament -- in the June 9 election.
That would make it tough for Balkenende's Christian Democrats, projected to win one seat less, to forge a strong coalition without Wilders. Months of talks between parties, and the resulting policy vacuum, could threaten a fragile economic recovery and cast doubt on the scope of planned budget cuts.
The popularity of Wilders, who compares Islam to fascism and the Koran to Adolf Hitler's book "Mein Kampf," has dented the image of the Netherlands as a country that has often portrayed itself in the past as a bastion of tolerance.
The PVV has been pitching its policies to a nation of 16 million that is turning increasingly inward as the economy struggles and social tensions rise. There are nearly 1 million Muslims in the Netherlands.
"The leftist elite still believes in multi-culturalism, coddling criminals, a European super-state and high taxes," Wilders told cheering supporters at a rally in Almere after polling ended Wednesday.
"But the rest of the Netherlands thinks differently. That silent majority now has a voice," he said.
Andre Krouwel, professor of political science at Vrije University in Amsterdam, said: "You can see there's a lot of discontent in the electorate. Clearly Wilders is going to use these results as a stepping stone for national elections."
Balkenende, now heading a caretaker government, saw his coalition collapse on February 20 after his center-right Christian Democrats failed to persuade their Labor Party partners to extend the Netherlands' military mission in Afghanistan.
He has said the nearly 2,000 Dutch troops serving with NATO in Afghanistan were now likely to withdraw this year as planned.
The collapse was the fourth for a cabinet led by Balkenende in eight years.
In Almere, the PVV won 21 percent of the vote to Labour's 18 percent, the preliminary results showed. In The Hague, the PVV had 8 seats -- second to Labor with 10 seats. Experts put turnout in the local elections at 56 percent.
Labor, led by former Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos, appeared to have benefited from its stance over Afghanistan.
"The Labor Party is back," Bos told supporters. "We were declared dead and buried, but with our struggle, humility and ideals we have come back."
Wilders, who has faced death threats, was under tight security at his rally Wednesday.
People had to pass through metal detectors and security officers patted everyone down for concealed weapons.
"There are many Muslims who want to take part in the community, but there is a percentage who want to make problems," said bus driver Theo Verstappen, 53.
</div>
By Reed Stevenson and Aaron Gray-Block
Reuters
Wednesday, March 3, 2010; 9:54 PM
AMSTERDAM/THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Dutch anti-Islamist leader Geert Wilders scored major gains in local authority polls Thursday, making him a serious challenger for power in a June national election, preliminary results showed.
In the first test of public opinion since the collapse of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's coalition government last month, Wilders's Freedom Party (PVV) led in the city of Almere and was second in The Hague.
The results came on top of an opinion poll showing that the PVV, which campaigns against Muslim immigration as its main platform, would win the most seats -- 27 in the 150-member Dutch parliament -- in the June 9 election.
That would make it tough for Balkenende's Christian Democrats, projected to win one seat less, to forge a strong coalition without Wilders. Months of talks between parties, and the resulting policy vacuum, could threaten a fragile economic recovery and cast doubt on the scope of planned budget cuts.
The popularity of Wilders, who compares Islam to fascism and the Koran to Adolf Hitler's book "Mein Kampf," has dented the image of the Netherlands as a country that has often portrayed itself in the past as a bastion of tolerance.
The PVV has been pitching its policies to a nation of 16 million that is turning increasingly inward as the economy struggles and social tensions rise. There are nearly 1 million Muslims in the Netherlands.
"The leftist elite still believes in multi-culturalism, coddling criminals, a European super-state and high taxes," Wilders told cheering supporters at a rally in Almere after polling ended Wednesday.
"But the rest of the Netherlands thinks differently. That silent majority now has a voice," he said.
Andre Krouwel, professor of political science at Vrije University in Amsterdam, said: "You can see there's a lot of discontent in the electorate. Clearly Wilders is going to use these results as a stepping stone for national elections."
Balkenende, now heading a caretaker government, saw his coalition collapse on February 20 after his center-right Christian Democrats failed to persuade their Labor Party partners to extend the Netherlands' military mission in Afghanistan.
He has said the nearly 2,000 Dutch troops serving with NATO in Afghanistan were now likely to withdraw this year as planned.
The collapse was the fourth for a cabinet led by Balkenende in eight years.
In Almere, the PVV won 21 percent of the vote to Labour's 18 percent, the preliminary results showed. In The Hague, the PVV had 8 seats -- second to Labor with 10 seats. Experts put turnout in the local elections at 56 percent.
Labor, led by former Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos, appeared to have benefited from its stance over Afghanistan.
"The Labor Party is back," Bos told supporters. "We were declared dead and buried, but with our struggle, humility and ideals we have come back."
Wilders, who has faced death threats, was under tight security at his rally Wednesday.
People had to pass through metal detectors and security officers patted everyone down for concealed weapons.
"There are many Muslims who want to take part in the community, but there is a percentage who want to make problems," said bus driver Theo Verstappen, 53.
</div>
Can't help but respect the hell out of the guy. Whether you agree with him or not, which I do. He says what needs to be said, and people are listening, not only in his own country, but world wide. Dude has a pair and he's not afraid to voice his opinion, no mater what the consequences.
Is there any doubt that the Labour Party there is a perfect example of the Democrats?
Is there any doubt that the Labour Party there is a perfect example of the Democrats?
[ This guy is my total hero. He stands right up to the Islamo-fascists and puts
his life on the line. Unlike the filthy, corrupt, spineless, politically-correct
fools in the US government who pander to this evil ideology. Let's build
a friggen Mosque at the 9-11 bombing site? Let's have Muslims in high
positions in Homeland Security? Bunch of fools, letting the fox guard the hen-house. ]
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June 10th, 2010
02:19 PM ET
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Anti-Islam party's success worries Dutch Muslims
Opinion polls had predicted the anti-Muslim Party for Freedom would do well in Dutch elections this week - but not this well.
Led by the controversial politician Geert Wilders, the party nearly tripled its representation in parliament, from 9 seats to 24, according to exit polls.
That has Dutch Muslims worried.
"We are all concerned now. It's like we are not welcome any more," said Ibraham Spalburg, the head of SPIOR, an umbrella organization of Muslim groups around the Dutch city of Rotterdam.
Once famously tolerant, Dutch "society has changed a lot in a very dramatic way," Spalburg said. "It's like Islamophobia. It's not nice any more."
Holland is not alone in its apparent distrust of its rapidly growing Muslim population.
Switzerland voted to ban minaret construction last year, and France and Belgium are considering bans on Islamic veils such as the burqa.
"Today's election result in the Netherlands is the latest evidence of rising anti-Muslim sentiment across western Europe," Lucy James, a research fellow at the Quilliam Foundation in London, told CNN.
"Far-right parties such as Wilders' have increasingly targeted anti-Muslim votes by manipulating popular grievances - such as economic recession, unemployment and housing - and laying the blame for these problems on Muslim immigrants," she said.
"Europe is therefore less witnessing a 'clash of civilizations' than a deft manipulation of people's fears by far-right populists," she said. The Quilliam Foundation describes itself as a "counter-extremism think tank."
Negative views of Muslims have become slightly more common in France and Spain in the past half-dozen years, while British and German views are about where they were in the middle of the last decade, according to Richard Wike, associate director of the Pew Global Attitudes Project.
British views toward Muslims are consistently less negative than those found in France, Germany and Spain, he added.
The project has not polled the Netherlands.
Spalburg understands that native Dutch people - especially older ones - may be nervous about the fast growth of the country's Muslim population. "They see minarets around them, or women with scarves, and they don't like to see them in the public space," he said.
The Netherlands has just under a million Muslims, representing 5.7 percent of the population, according to "Mapping the Global Muslim Population," an October 2009 study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington.
It has relatively low levels of social hostilities related to religion, it found in a separate study, "Global Restrictions on Religion," in December.
But Wilders is fanning the flames with "propaganda," Muslim leader Spalburg says.
"Wilders is saying all the time he was wants to stop the Islamicization of Holland," Spalburg said.
Wilders - a potential kingmaker in the formation of the next Dutch government - faces criminal charges of inciting discrimination and hatred over comments he has made about Islam over the years.
They include an October 2006 interview with the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant in which he said he wanted to stop the "tsunami of Islamization," and another in September 2007 with Radio Netherlands in which he said the Quran should be banned.
Wilders' film "Fitna," which he released online in March 2008 to international outcry, is also named in the charges against him. The film features disturbing images of terrorist acts superimposed over verses from the Quran in order to paint Islam as a threat to Western society.
He is due to go on trial in October.
Last year he said he had "nothing against Muslims. I know the majority of Muslims in our society are law-abiding people."
"I have a problem with the Islamic ideology, the Islamic culture, because I believe that the more Islam we get in our free societies, the less freedom we will get," he added.
Spalburg disagrees.
"We don't want to be the cause of problems in society," he said. "There are always people who are more radical. We don't have everything under control, but 99 percent of people are not radical."
There is a possibility that the rise of Wilders' party will radicalize Dutch Muslims, Spalburg conceded, but he said his organization was working against it.
"We are trying to explain to Muslims, especially to young people, that they don't have to feel provoked," he said. "We have to stay calm and we have to show that we are normal people and don't want to make a problem in society, to show that Islam is a peaceful religion."
He took some comfort from the thought that Wilders still does not have widespread support.
"There are a lot of Dutch citizens even now who are very sympathetic towards us, towards Muslims," he said. "About 1.5 million people in the whole of Holland are supporting the policy of Geert Wilders," he said, out of a population of around 16 million.
"The majority are not supporting that, so there is a lot of hope," he said.
And Muslims were not leaving Holland, he added.
"We cannot go away," he said. "It is our country as well as the country of the Dutch citizens. There are people who have been here 40, 50 years. They are Dutch now."
CNN's Lianne Turner contributed to this report.
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td style="padding-bottom: 20px;" valign="top"> Posted by: Richard Allen Greene - Newsdesk editor, The CNN Wire
Filed under: Islam • Politics </td> </tr> </tbody></table>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
his life on the line. Unlike the filthy, corrupt, spineless, politically-correct
fools in the US government who pander to this evil ideology. Let's build
a friggen Mosque at the 9-11 bombing site? Let's have Muslims in high
positions in Homeland Security? Bunch of fools, letting the fox guard the hen-house. ]
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</td></tr> <tr valign="top"> <!-- content area --> <td class="cnnWireLtgBox-leftside" valign="top" width="643"> <!-- blog post 2949 -->
June 10th, 2010
02:19 PM ET
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Anti-Islam party's success worries Dutch Muslims
Opinion polls had predicted the anti-Muslim Party for Freedom would do well in Dutch elections this week - but not this well.
Led by the controversial politician Geert Wilders, the party nearly tripled its representation in parliament, from 9 seats to 24, according to exit polls.
That has Dutch Muslims worried.
"We are all concerned now. It's like we are not welcome any more," said Ibraham Spalburg, the head of SPIOR, an umbrella organization of Muslim groups around the Dutch city of Rotterdam.
Once famously tolerant, Dutch "society has changed a lot in a very dramatic way," Spalburg said. "It's like Islamophobia. It's not nice any more."
Holland is not alone in its apparent distrust of its rapidly growing Muslim population.
Switzerland voted to ban minaret construction last year, and France and Belgium are considering bans on Islamic veils such as the burqa.
"Today's election result in the Netherlands is the latest evidence of rising anti-Muslim sentiment across western Europe," Lucy James, a research fellow at the Quilliam Foundation in London, told CNN.
"Far-right parties such as Wilders' have increasingly targeted anti-Muslim votes by manipulating popular grievances - such as economic recession, unemployment and housing - and laying the blame for these problems on Muslim immigrants," she said.
"Europe is therefore less witnessing a 'clash of civilizations' than a deft manipulation of people's fears by far-right populists," she said. The Quilliam Foundation describes itself as a "counter-extremism think tank."
Negative views of Muslims have become slightly more common in France and Spain in the past half-dozen years, while British and German views are about where they were in the middle of the last decade, according to Richard Wike, associate director of the Pew Global Attitudes Project.
British views toward Muslims are consistently less negative than those found in France, Germany and Spain, he added.
The project has not polled the Netherlands.
Spalburg understands that native Dutch people - especially older ones - may be nervous about the fast growth of the country's Muslim population. "They see minarets around them, or women with scarves, and they don't like to see them in the public space," he said.
The Netherlands has just under a million Muslims, representing 5.7 percent of the population, according to "Mapping the Global Muslim Population," an October 2009 study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington.
It has relatively low levels of social hostilities related to religion, it found in a separate study, "Global Restrictions on Religion," in December.
But Wilders is fanning the flames with "propaganda," Muslim leader Spalburg says.
"Wilders is saying all the time he was wants to stop the Islamicization of Holland," Spalburg said.
Wilders - a potential kingmaker in the formation of the next Dutch government - faces criminal charges of inciting discrimination and hatred over comments he has made about Islam over the years.
They include an October 2006 interview with the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant in which he said he wanted to stop the "tsunami of Islamization," and another in September 2007 with Radio Netherlands in which he said the Quran should be banned.
Wilders' film "Fitna," which he released online in March 2008 to international outcry, is also named in the charges against him. The film features disturbing images of terrorist acts superimposed over verses from the Quran in order to paint Islam as a threat to Western society.
He is due to go on trial in October.
Last year he said he had "nothing against Muslims. I know the majority of Muslims in our society are law-abiding people."
"I have a problem with the Islamic ideology, the Islamic culture, because I believe that the more Islam we get in our free societies, the less freedom we will get," he added.
Spalburg disagrees.
"We don't want to be the cause of problems in society," he said. "There are always people who are more radical. We don't have everything under control, but 99 percent of people are not radical."
There is a possibility that the rise of Wilders' party will radicalize Dutch Muslims, Spalburg conceded, but he said his organization was working against it.
"We are trying to explain to Muslims, especially to young people, that they don't have to feel provoked," he said. "We have to stay calm and we have to show that we are normal people and don't want to make a problem in society, to show that Islam is a peaceful religion."
He took some comfort from the thought that Wilders still does not have widespread support.
"There are a lot of Dutch citizens even now who are very sympathetic towards us, towards Muslims," he said. "About 1.5 million people in the whole of Holland are supporting the policy of Geert Wilders," he said, out of a population of around 16 million.
"The majority are not supporting that, so there is a lot of hope," he said.
And Muslims were not leaving Holland, he added.
"We cannot go away," he said. "It is our country as well as the country of the Dutch citizens. There are people who have been here 40, 50 years. They are Dutch now."
CNN's Lianne Turner contributed to this report.
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td style="padding-bottom: 20px;" valign="top"> Posted by: Richard Allen Greene - Newsdesk editor, The CNN Wire
Filed under: Islam • Politics </td> </tr> </tbody></table>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
Wilders makes shock gains in Dutch elections
<author> By Vanessa Mock in Brussels</author>
Friday, 11 June 2010
EPA
Geert Wilders' anti-immigration Freedom Party now has 24 seats after receiving 1.5 million votes
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Dutch populist Geert Wilders yesterday stunned the Netherlands by coming third in general elections – a historic vote that could see him enter a coalition government.
Best known for his strident attacks on Islam, Mr Wilders' electoral triumph sent shock waves through the country's large immigrant communities and sounded the death knell for the image of the Netherlands as a bastion of tolerance.
The shock-factor was all the greater as the peroxide-haired politician had appeared sidelined during the election campaign, as the mainstream parties focused on how to deal with the nation's economic woes and immigration slipped down the political agenda.
Yet Mr Wilders made the strongest gains in Wednesday's election, doubling the number of seats for his Freedom Party to 24. The pro-business VDD party – which Mr Wilders left to set up on his own – won 31 of the 150 seats up for grabs, pipping the Labour Party of former Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen by a single seat in the narrowest ever electoral victory.
"The impossible has come true," a triumphant Mr Wilders said, noting that 1.5 million people had chosen his party's "optimistic" platform. "More security, less crime, less immigration, less Islam – that is what the Netherlands has chosen."
His party picked up the bulk of its seats from another party on the right, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's Christian Democrats. After eight years in power, his party suffered an historic defeat, losing nearly half its seats. Visibly emotional, Mr Balkenende called the results "very, very disappointing" and announced he was quitting politics.
The Netherlands now faces a period of huge political uncertainty, with the coalition jostling as painful budget cuts loom. The likely next prime minister, VVD leader Mark Rutte, will either have to form a messy and potentially incoherent government possibly with his Labour rivals, possibly with scores of smaller parties, or go into business with the notoriously uncompromising Mr Wilders.
During the election, Mr Rutte was the only politician to have signalled that he would be willing to include the firebrand politician in his coalition, although it is unclear whether he will actually reach out a hand towards a man despised by many sections of Dutch society.
As parties started the horse-trading yesterday, Mr Wilders was in a combative mood. "I say to all the newly elected Freedom Party MPs of our beautiful party, bring battering rams with you because, starting tomorrow, we're going to give them hell."
Although he insisted that he wanted to be seated at the cabinet table in The Hague, there are still question marks over how far he would be willing to go in order to enter the political mainstream.
Mr Wilders has built much of his success on making headline-grabbing demands, such as calling for a ban on headscarves in public places and an immediate stop on immigration, and has in the past been unwilling to soften his tone.
In April's municipal polls, to cite one example, Freedom Party politicians walked out of coalition-building talks after refusing to budge on the headscarf ban. One centre-left MP commented that Mr Wilders "never wanted the responsibility of being in power. That would force him to compromise with mainstream parties and he would not be able to sustain his extremist views."
Dutch Muslim groups all expressed horror and shock at yesterday's outcome. Farid Azarkan of the Dutch-Moroccan umbrella group SMN said: "Dutch-Moroccans ask themselves if they still form part of Dutch society and whether their neighbours and colleagues really see them as fellow Dutch citizens. Can they and their children still look forward to a safe future in the Netherlands?"
<author> By Vanessa Mock in Brussels</author>
Friday, 11 June 2010
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Geert Wilders' anti-immigration Freedom Party now has 24 seats after receiving 1.5 million votes
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Dutch populist Geert Wilders yesterday stunned the Netherlands by coming third in general elections – a historic vote that could see him enter a coalition government.
Best known for his strident attacks on Islam, Mr Wilders' electoral triumph sent shock waves through the country's large immigrant communities and sounded the death knell for the image of the Netherlands as a bastion of tolerance.
The shock-factor was all the greater as the peroxide-haired politician had appeared sidelined during the election campaign, as the mainstream parties focused on how to deal with the nation's economic woes and immigration slipped down the political agenda.
Yet Mr Wilders made the strongest gains in Wednesday's election, doubling the number of seats for his Freedom Party to 24. The pro-business VDD party – which Mr Wilders left to set up on his own – won 31 of the 150 seats up for grabs, pipping the Labour Party of former Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen by a single seat in the narrowest ever electoral victory.
"The impossible has come true," a triumphant Mr Wilders said, noting that 1.5 million people had chosen his party's "optimistic" platform. "More security, less crime, less immigration, less Islam – that is what the Netherlands has chosen."
His party picked up the bulk of its seats from another party on the right, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's Christian Democrats. After eight years in power, his party suffered an historic defeat, losing nearly half its seats. Visibly emotional, Mr Balkenende called the results "very, very disappointing" and announced he was quitting politics.
The Netherlands now faces a period of huge political uncertainty, with the coalition jostling as painful budget cuts loom. The likely next prime minister, VVD leader Mark Rutte, will either have to form a messy and potentially incoherent government possibly with his Labour rivals, possibly with scores of smaller parties, or go into business with the notoriously uncompromising Mr Wilders.
During the election, Mr Rutte was the only politician to have signalled that he would be willing to include the firebrand politician in his coalition, although it is unclear whether he will actually reach out a hand towards a man despised by many sections of Dutch society.
As parties started the horse-trading yesterday, Mr Wilders was in a combative mood. "I say to all the newly elected Freedom Party MPs of our beautiful party, bring battering rams with you because, starting tomorrow, we're going to give them hell."
Although he insisted that he wanted to be seated at the cabinet table in The Hague, there are still question marks over how far he would be willing to go in order to enter the political mainstream.
Mr Wilders has built much of his success on making headline-grabbing demands, such as calling for a ban on headscarves in public places and an immediate stop on immigration, and has in the past been unwilling to soften his tone.
In April's municipal polls, to cite one example, Freedom Party politicians walked out of coalition-building talks after refusing to budge on the headscarf ban. One centre-left MP commented that Mr Wilders "never wanted the responsibility of being in power. That would force him to compromise with mainstream parties and he would not be able to sustain his extremist views."
Dutch Muslim groups all expressed horror and shock at yesterday's outcome. Farid Azarkan of the Dutch-Moroccan umbrella group SMN said: "Dutch-Moroccans ask themselves if they still form part of Dutch society and whether their neighbours and colleagues really see them as fellow Dutch citizens. Can they and their children still look forward to a safe future in the Netherlands?"
Barman fix the post above will ya. I know you still have the codes.
Without needlessly opening another thread [which so many in here love to do], Fareed Zakaria of CNN has narrated the HBO Documentary "Terror in Mumbai" in which you can hear recordings of the terrorists getting orders from their controllers in Pakistan. Riveting documentary, and not for children or the squeamish. If you have OnDemand you can watch it on HBO anytime.
Without needlessly opening another thread [which so many in here love to do], Fareed Zakaria of CNN has narrated the HBO Documentary "Terror in Mumbai" in which you can hear recordings of the terrorists getting orders from their controllers in Pakistan. Riveting documentary, and not for children or the squeamish. If you have OnDemand you can watch it on HBO anytime.
