Muslim witnesses in Wilders trial says his remarks about Islam spurred violence and intimidating behavior against Muslims

(But wait—how could there be witnesses giving testimony in the Wilders trial, since Serge Trifkovic said last Friday in Chronicles—see previous entry—that the trial is over?)

The AP reports today:

Dutch MP’s anti-Islam comments ‘provoked abuse’

Muslim witnesses have testified that a Dutch MP’s anti-Islamic comments had led to attacks and intimidation, and they pleaded with judges to convict him and give him a symbolic fine of €1.

Geert Wilders is facing charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims for statements that include comparing Islam with Nazism and calling for a ban of the Koran and a tax on Muslim scarves, which he calls “head rags”. His trial has been seen as testing the limits of free speech.

Prosecutors last week acknowledged they have failed to prove the case against him and called for his acquittal. The judges’ verdict is expected on 5 November.

“Arson. Attempted arson. Vandalism. Disturbances. Incivility to people attending mosques. Obscenities. Intimidating behaviour—they have all become everyday occurrences” as a result of Mr Wilders’ public remarks, said Mohammed Enait, speaking for an alliance of Dutch mosques that had asked to testify as victims in the case.

Mr Wilders denies inciting hatred of Muslims, claiming he criticises Islam as an ideology that rejects Western values. He argues it is not a crime to state what many Dutch voters believe.

Mr Enait said Dutch Muslims have suffered tangible damage as a result of Mr Wilders’ repeated negative remarks about Islam. He said there are countless incidences of “children being cursed at while they walk. Stories from women … who are spit upon, mocked because they wear headscarves”.

Mr Enait, from Rotterdam, said the mosque he attended as a child had been burned down. Dozens of mosques in the Netherlands were burned in 2004 in apparent retaliatory attacks after the killing of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic radical who is now serving a life sentence.

[end of article]

Dozens of mosques were burned in the Netherlands in 2004? If this were true, wouldn’t we have, ah, heard something about it at the time?
- end of initial entry -

Dutch blogger “Snouck Hurgronje” writes:

You wrote:

“Dozens of mosques were burned in the Netherlands in 2004? If this were true, wouldn’t we have, ah, heard something about it at the time?”

On 2 November 2004 filmmaker Theo van Gogh was assassinated. The Dutch press reported a wave of attacks on mosques and Islamic schools. A number of churches was also attacked.

There are more than four hundred mosques in The Netherlands. Some attacks were very light, mere insulting graffiti texts. Schools and mosques were defiled with manure and (pigs) blood. There were also many more serious attempts at arson, by ethnic Dutch youngsters, who often added nationalist or neo-nazi graffiti. Several attacks were succesful. Schools and mosques were actually burned down. Although the intensity of the violence lessened as time passed, it continues until today. Before 2004 there were already occassional attacks against mosques.

Recently arson was attempted against a mosque in the North (Selwerd) and a shot or shots were fired at a mosque in Dordrecht and other towns.

Looking at the pattern of the attacks I note that hardly any mosques are attacked in the major cities with large Muslim and non-white populations. The attacks are mostly in towns, where ethnic Dutch are the majority, but where there is a Muslim presence which is large enough to anger but not intimidate the local population.

Two days ago Geert Wilders tweeted on Twitter: “The fewer mosques in The Netherlands, the better. But violence against existing mosques is unacceptable and must be fought and punished.”

My blogpost is here.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 19, 2010 08:08 AM | Send