The Prosecution of Geert Wilders

Geert Wilders


The Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders is due to go on trial in his own country shortly for incitement to hatred. Wilders has gained fame and notoriety for his outspoken criticism of Islam and advocating that The Netherlands be closed to Muslim immigration. As a result, he lives under death threats. Now he is being prosecuted for his words. The prosecutor's office has just added additional charges that Wilders has specifically targeted Moroccan and other non-Western immigrants.

The Wilders case is worth following. I must admit that Wilders has made some statements I would not make, for example, a comparison as to the value of cultures. He has said that Western culture is superior to non-Western culture. (I believe he was referring to Islamic culture.) If Wilders says that no non-Western immigrants should be allowed in the Netherlands, I would disagree. The criteria should be whether the new arrivals are willing to embrace Dutch values, assimilate and make a positive contribution. That is not a West vs East issue.

It should also be noted that many European countries do not have the free speech rights that we have in America. For example, Holocaust denial is considered a crime in certain European countries.

Nevertheless, I defend Wilders' right of free speech insofar as what he has said (or insofar as what I am aware of). He has not, to my knowledge, advocated violence toward anybody. It strikes me that the Dutch government is pandering to Islamist forces inside and outside of Holland that are bringing pressure to bear on that tiny country.

The truth is that The Netherlands, like most Western European countries, has a problem with radical members of the Muslim immigrant community. The case of Theo van Gogh, the filmmaker murdered by a Moroccan immigrant a few years ago because he made a film critical of Islam's treatment of women, is a case in point. Van Gogh's film making associate, Muslim apostate Ayaan Hirsi Ali, is still living under guard as a result of her involvement with Van Gogh and her criticism of Islam. Even though she herself was a parliament member in The Netherlands, she has been treated shabbily by the goverment and now lives outside of The Netherlands.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali


It has now become clear that The Netherlands is not willing to face up to the dangerous element in its midst. All Muslim immigrants? Certainly not. Even Wilders has been quoted as estimating that 5-15% of the Muslim immigrants are radicalized. But even that number is of concern. Yet, the government prefers to prosecute the warnings of Geert Wilders and ignore the radical, hateful words that sprout from the radical Islamists, words that speak of Jihad, hatred of Jews and contempt for the values of their "adopted" nation. More than just words, the country has witnessed acts of violence and even murder committed by radical Muslims against Dutch citizens.

We should all watch the upcoming trial of Geert Wilders with interest. What is happening to Geert Wilders is precisely the intent on the UN-proposed "Defamation of religions" law that Islamic member nations are trying to shove through and which would affect us all if signed onto by the US. If this man is sent to prison for what he says, it will be a mark of shame on The Netherlands. The Dutch people are increasingly fed up with the ever-increasing rise in Islamic violence and intimidation in their country-fed up to the point that many Dutch are now leaving. Should Wilders be convicted, it will be a clear sign to the Dutch that their government is living in a state of surrender. When we talk about tolerance, there should be no tolerance for what is intolerable.