Anti-Islam film likely to provoke violence

When the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published the controversial cartoons depicting the… When the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published the controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist in September 2005, the Muslim world was in an uproar, to say the least. In the months that followed, Muslims from Islamabad to Jakarta participated in violent and sometimes deadly protests, embassies were set on fire and leaders from several Islamic countries condemned the publication of the cartoons.

Other past events have shown that criticism of Islam is usually met with violence from radical Muslims. Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the murder of British author Salman Rushdie for his 1988 book, “The Satanic Verses.” Director Theo Van Gogh was killed for his 2004 film “Submission,” and the film’s writer, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, receives death threats to this day.

And it is likely that we will see a similar replay of violence in the days to come. Yesterday, after months of trying to secure a media outlet to broadcast his controversial anti-Islam film “Fitna,” far-right Dutch party leader and adamant critic of Islam Geert Wilders finally succeeded. The film was posted on the Internet and, according to the Europe Channel, was viewed by more than 200,000 people within the first two hours.

Among other things, the film likens the Quran to Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” declaring that Islam is a form of fascism. Undeniably, Wilders’ film presents offensive and intolerant material; arguably as extreme as the supposed Islam he criticizes. Wilders himself is a right-wing extremist. According to the Guardian, the Dutch leader said, “Islam is not a religion, it’s an ideology