Cabinet ministers and officials [...] have held a series of crisis meetings and ordered counter-terrorist services to draw up security plans. Dutch nationals overseas have been asked to register with their embassies and local mayors in the Netherlands have been put on standby.
Overseas as well:
Dutch media reported the government is preparing for a possible evacuation of its embassies and citizens from the Middle East. But Foreign Ministry spokesman Bart Rijs told AFP there were no special emergency measures in place at the moment.
"We always have scenarios for possible calamities at our embassies, consulates and other Dutch representations abroad. They are regularly updated," he said.
Why? Ask elected MP Geert Wilders.
Wilders, the head of the far-right Freedom Party, announced in November that he planned to release a 10-minute film this month that will show his view that Islam's holy book, the Koran, "is an inspiration for intolerance, murder and terror".
Nobody knows for sure if the film project will ever see the light of day but the government here is bracing for the worst.
The film is likely to be shown either today or next week, on television if he can find a broadcaster, and if not then on the internet. It has sparked a fierce debate in the country.
The PM:
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told reporters yesterday his government is prepared for any possible fallout, AFP reported. The Dutch leader said he couldn't comment on Wilders' film, because he had not seen it, but he emphasized his government would not censor it.
"The Netherlands has a tradition of freedom of expression and freedom of religion but also a tradition of mutual respect, and provocations do not fit into that. I call on everybody to take their individual responsibility," he said, according to AFP.
The Foreign Minister:
In November Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen met with Wilders personally "to point out the risks in making such a movie for himself and his entourage, and for the Netherlands and the Dutch interests abroad," Verhagen's spokesman Bart Rijs said.
The Dutch Muslim Council:
The Dutch Muslim Council has warned the government: if the movie is broadcasted anywhere, riots are certain. “We fear for the worst,” stated the council. “The youths on the streets will have the last word. We can’t stop them.”
Ayaan Hirsi Ali:
From her self-imposed exile in Washington, Hirsi Ali last week criticised the new film as 'provocation' and called on the major Dutch political parties to restart a debate on immigration that has split Dutch society in recent years, rather than leave the field to extremists.
Wilders is undeterred. The film will almost inevitably be shown.
Iran and Syria have also given their helpful contributions.
On Monday, a senior Iranian lawmaker warned the Netherlands not to allow the screening of Wilders' film, claiming it "reflects insulting views about the Holy Koran."
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, promised widespread protests and a review of Iran's relationship with the Netherlands if Wilders' work is shown.[...]
On Wednesday the Netherlands got a taste of a possible reaction of the Muslim world when the Grand Mufti of Syria Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that if Wilders burns or tears up the Koran in his film "this will mean he wants war and bloodshed".
So we will see. Clearly, Wilders is a bit of a wingnut and I'm sure his film is a celebration of simplistic, reactionary, ignorant opinions on the Koran and Islam. But blasphemy is not just protected by free speech--it's a central tenet of it. Nobody has a monopoly on declaring what's sacred, especially not illiterate fanatical mullahs in Iran.
As much as I think Wilders is an idiot, I have a hard time arguing that he shouldn't broadcast the film out of fear of violence. This will be interesting to keep an eye on.
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