Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Holland asserts the importance of free speech

Reuters reports that:

Dutch prosecutors said Monday that they would not take action against a politician who angered Muslims worldwide with a film critical of the Koran because he is protected by the right to free speech.
People may have been offended by some of the things Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party may have said in his anti-Koran film or in interviews, but that did not mean that he did not have have the right to say it.

Mr Wilders is still under protection because of the various threats (not to be taken lightly in Holland) by people who believe in free speech, honest, but think it should be linked to "respect".

Interestingly, the article points out that:

The film sparked calls for boycotts of Dutch products in some Muslim countries, but did not lead to the kind of violence that was directed against Denmark in 2006 after newspapers there published cartoons that featured the Prophet Mohammad.
Hmm, one wonders why that is so. Could it be because no Imam has travelled round the Middle East with fraudulent evidence, inciting violence?

UPDATE: In the meantime we have received a link to a Dutch blog, which points out that Geert Wilders's problems have not gone away. The Dutch government is merely washing its collective hands.

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