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DUTCH COURT REFUSES TO BAN ANTI-ISLAMIC FILM
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.04.2008 18:10 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A Dutch lawmaker who sparked protests across the
Muslim world with a film criticizing the Quran is entitled to express
his anti-Islamic views, a court ruled Monday, rejecting a request to
muzzle him.
The court ruled that the views expressed by right-wing legislator
Geert Wilders do not exceed the legal boundaries against inciting
hatred or violence.
The Netherlands Islamic Federation withdrew its petition to ban
Wilders' film "Fitna" after it appeared on the Internet March 27,
the day before the case was heard in a heavily guarded courtroom.
The movie, which links terror attacks by Muslim extremists with texts
from Islam's holy book, triggered angry street protests in Pakistan,
Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as calls in other countries to boycott
Dutch goods.
The federation asked The Hague District Court to order Wilders to stop
making statements "in writing, on film or spoken" that are deemed
insulting to Muslims, and to apologize for past statements. Wilders
has called the Quran a fascist book and compared it to Adolf Hitler's
"Mein Kampf."
In a written judgment published Monday, the court said Wilders'
right to free speech and role as a politician allow him to voice his
criticisms of radical Islam and the Quran, the AP reports.
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.04.2008 18:10 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A Dutch lawmaker who sparked protests across the
Muslim world with a film criticizing the Quran is entitled to express
his anti-Islamic views, a court ruled Monday, rejecting a request to
muzzle him.
The court ruled that the views expressed by right-wing legislator
Geert Wilders do not exceed the legal boundaries against inciting
hatred or violence.
The Netherlands Islamic Federation withdrew its petition to ban
Wilders' film "Fitna" after it appeared on the Internet March 27,
the day before the case was heard in a heavily guarded courtroom.
The movie, which links terror attacks by Muslim extremists with texts
from Islam's holy book, triggered angry street protests in Pakistan,
Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as calls in other countries to boycott
Dutch goods.
The federation asked The Hague District Court to order Wilders to stop
making statements "in writing, on film or spoken" that are deemed
insulting to Muslims, and to apologize for past statements. Wilders
has called the Quran a fascist book and compared it to Adolf Hitler's
"Mein Kampf."
In a written judgment published Monday, the court said Wilders'
right to free speech and role as a politician allow him to voice his
criticisms of radical Islam and the Quran, the AP reports.