Amsterdam (dpa) – The Iranian Embassy in The Hague on Thursday condemned a proposal by Dutch politician Geert Wilders of the Freedom Party (PVV) to ban the Koran.
With its statement, the Iranian embassy was responding to a letter authored by Wilders that appeared in the Dutch daily newspaper Volkskrant on Wednesday.
Wilders wrote that the Koran was a “fascist” book which incited people to violence.
The legislator of the liberal-rightist party also referred to “fascist Islam, the sick ideology of Allah and Mohammed as laid down in the Islamic Mein Kampf: the Koran.”
In its statement, the Iranian embassy called upon Dutch politicians to take a stand against forces threatening to divide society.
“The world needs empathy, dialogue and tolerance,” a representative of the embassy told reporters. She also added the statement was not sent to the Dutch government.
On Wednesday evening, the Dutch government distanced itself from Wilders’ proposal to ban the Koran. Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen, a Christian Democrat, added that Wilders had “crossed the line of what is proper.”
On Thursday, the Justice Ministry confirmed a second lawyer had filed a complaint against Wilders, arguing that Wilders’ statements violated Dutch law.
Jaffe Vink, opinion leader and editor of Opinio magazine, criticized Els Lucas, the first lawyer to file a complaint with the Dutch police over Wilders’ remarks.
He said it was “remarkable” that she came into action “only now, but not when Islam critic Ehsan Jami was beaten up by Muslim fundamentalists.”
Western values are not compatible with Islam. As a result, many Muslims form ghettos and engage in other forms of non-integration.
Hair-tricker sensitivities that have Muslim extremists respond to real or perceived insults with death threats, violent demonstrations, murder and terrorism, make it difficult or even impossible for non-Muslims to believe the claim that Islam is a ‘religion of peace.’ Therefore a high birthrate among Muslims, combined with high (legal and illegal) immigration figures, have Europeans and others worried about the Muslims in their midst.
Vink also criticized established political parties in the Netherlands for failing to take a clear position vis-a-vis Muslim fundamentalism and Islam.
“By failing to do so, and only responding to radical remarks by Geert Wilders, they are playing into the hands of fundamentalists,” Vink said.
Legislator Madeleine van Toorenburg of the government coalition Christian Democrats said she would “investigate legal instruments” to close mosques where radical imams tend to preach.
According to estimates, there are some 10 radical mosques in the Netherlands.
Van Toorenburg said it was important to act against the mosque as a whole and not only against the imams.
“We cannot ban them,” she said.
“Besides, those imams do not speak a single word of Dutch, so they were not the ones to put those texts on the internet,” she said, referring to radical texts that were recently put on Islamic websites
It is the second time the Christian Democrats have said they want to close down radical mosques.
In 2004, the Christian Democrats filed a motion about it in cooperation with with the liberal VVD and rightist LPF parties.
Back then the government warned the European Court of Human Rights would probably reject such a measure as being “discriminatory”.
Instead it recommended acting against hatred and incitement, which, it said, would be more effective.
Law professor and publicist Afshin Ellian, adviser and spokesman of Islam critic Ehsan Jami who was beaten up last Saturday by Muslim youths, said Jami received “tens of death threats” on Wednesday.
It happened after a yet-to-be-identified person published Jami’s private address and phone number on a website. On Wednesday, an incessant stream of threats kept coming in by phone, Ellian said.
The threats varied from death threats to Islamic prayers yelled through the phone or exclamations like “Allah Akbar.”
Jami had his phone disconnected on Thursday and was said to have a filed a complaint with the police, enabling them to launch a criminal investigation.
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