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Geert Wilders spreads fitna – hatred and discord

Geert Wilders begins and ends his mini-documentary, ‘Fitna,’ with a direct affront to Muslims. In the opening scene he shows the infamous Danish cartoon depicting the Prophet with a bomb in his turban. But the cartoon is animated with the fuse burning and a countdown displayed next to it.

He ends the documentary saying that Nazism and Communism were stopped and ‘now the Islamic ideology has to be defeated.’ Then the words ‘Stop Islamisation’ followed by ‘Defend our freedom.’ The cartoon with the fuse burning appears again with the countdown just at its end. Then there is a huge explosion.

Wilders documentary has one clear aim: to show that the Koran inspires people to kill and therefore Islam is a danger to the world because it ’seeks to destroy western civilization.’ He calls on Muslims to ‘tear out the hateful verses from the Koran."

Wilders does exactly what a good propagandist will do: selective reporting –

take statements out of context, juxtaposition graphic images of violent acts with these statements so that they appear to substantiate the sentiments expressed in them, present views of a minority as if they represent those of the mainstream, give a sinister twist to something that is quite innocuous and ascribe to those he attacks something they do not espouse.

He has a simple format for his documentary: present a verse from the Koran followed by preachers talking about killing and then graphic scenes of violence. The viewer sees a clear link in this simple equation.

Here are some examples of Wilders’ distortions:

The Koran clearly says that a Muslim must fight injustice and in self-defence. Wilders selects a verse which calls for the striking ‘of terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah…’ Then he shows images of the plane striking one of the Twin Towers. A telephone conversation of a distressed young lady in the building crying for help is chilling. The message: the verses of the Koran inspired the young Arab men to kill. The whole 9-11 story is very murky and we were told that some of the alleged hijackers were in a pub before the deed and one of these good Muslims actually left his Koran there.

Much of his portrayal is of the Koran commanding the faithful to go out and mindlessly kill the Jews and Christians. How does that reconcile with the verse that says that Muslims should respect ‘the People of the Book’ and may even marry them. Wilders makes no attempt to explain that, nor the fact that in battle no women or children or any non-combatants should be harmed.

He shows a little child saying that Jews are like apes and pigs and says that she learnt this from the Koran. In fact this is nowhere in the Koran. Wilders makes no attempt to verify this statement.

Theo van Gogh incensed Muslims in Holland by insulting Islam. One man could not control his rage and killed him. Wilders blames Islam. Many who are not Muslims are often enraged by a gross insult and some may even be driven to violence. The actions of the person who insulted are conveniently disconnected from the response of the victim of the insult.

Genital mutilation is portrayed as a Koran-inspired act. The fact that some Muslims in Africa perform this act clearly indicates that it cultural practice. Non-Muslims in Africa also practice this, further proving that it is culturally driven. Muslims in the Arab world, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa and in fact the rest of the world have nothing to do with this, yet Wilders includes this in his documentary.

The so-called ‘honour killings’ is also not part of Islam. The fact that certain Muslims commit this crime does not mean that the Koran sanctions it. Again, it is a culture-bound phenomenon limited to people in certain parts of the world only.

He shows the execution of a woman in Afghanistan. He omits to say that she was found guilty of killing her husband. 94 people were put to death in Texas when George Bush was governor.

Perhaps the best attempt at sowing alarm is the selected images of various fiery preachers saying that it is their desire to see that Islam spreads around the world. Isn’t that what all preachers of all religions say in their sermons, that they hope that their particular faith will prevail and dominate the earth.. Is this not the wish of the evangelicals and the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other groups who are spreading all around the world with their message, including the Muslim world. Wilders, quite absurdly, picks the words of a Muslim preacher saying that Islam is better than Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. Don’t all preachers say that theirs is the best religion. Surely if they didn’t they would instantly convert to another that is better.

Wilders gets even more ridiculous with newspaper clips saying, ‘Imams don’t like gays.’ Most priests in the Western world also don’t like gays.

Another newspaper clip reads, ‘Muslims hinder doctor taking care of women.’ What was the message of this insert? Was it that the Koran forbids a person from seeking medical attention? Perhaps all the medical schools in the Muslim countries should be closed down and doctors stoned to death.

Wilders goes to desperate levels in attempting to make his case, using every dirty propaganda tool of deceit and half-truths to underpin his shaky arguments. Clearly, the man is an Islamophobe. His mission is to demonise Islam no matter what it takes.

It is not Islam that should be stopped. It is fear-mongers like Geert Wilders who should be stopped from spreading their hate. They care little that their actions could lead to discord and disharmony – fitna.