Dutch MP banned from entering UK

[Ibtisam]

A Dutch MP who called the Koran a "fascist book" says he still plans to travel to the UK despite being banned on public security grounds.

 

Freedom Party MP Geert Wilders was invited to show his controversial film - which links the Islamic holy book to terrorism - in the UK's House of Lords.

 

But Mr Wilders, who faces trial in his own country for inciting hatred, has been denied entry by the Home Office.

 

He plans to fly into Heathrow later, saying: "Let's see what happens."

 

'Offensive'

 

Mr Wilders' film Fitna caused outrage across the Muslim world when it was posted on the internet last year.

 

Its opening scenes show a copy of the Koran followed by footage of the 9/11 attacks in the US and the bombings in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005.

 

The Dutch prime minister has said the film served "no purpose other than to offend".

 

Mr Wilders was asked to show the film at the House of Lords by UK Independence Party peer Lord Pearson.

 

However, he received a letter from the British Embassy in the Netherlands telling him he would not be allowed into the UK.

 

The Home Office said there was a blanket ban on Mr Wilders entering the UK under EU laws enabling member states to exclude someone whose presence could threaten public security.

 

"The government opposes extremism in all forms," it said in a statement, adding that it had tightened up rules on excluding those engaging in "unacceptable behaviour" in October.

 

"It will stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred, and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country."

 

The home secretary has the power to stop people entering the UK if she believes there is a threat to national security, public order or the safety of UK citizens, but she cannot exclude people simply because of their views.

 

Mr Wilders described the decision as "cowardly" and said he still intends to travel to the UK on Thursday to take part in the event.

 

He told the BBC: "It's incredible that an elected politician who was invited by one of your parliamentarians to a discussion with people who are against me, or in favour of me [was banned from the UK]."

 

Mr Wilders added: "I was surprised and very saddened that the freedom of speech that was a very strong point of UK society has been harassed. I thought Great Britain had the mother of all parliaments."

 

The Dutch government is reported to be trying to overturn the ban.

 

In the past, Mr Wilders has called for the Koran to be banned and compared it to Mein Kampf.

 

Earlier this year, a Dutch court ordered prosecutors to put Mr Wilders on trial for inciting hatred and discrimination by making anti-Islamic statements.

 

Labour peer Lord Ahmed, who expressed his concerns to the Parliamentary authorities about Mr Wilders' visit, said he welcomed the decision to ban the MP.

 

"It would be unwise to have him in the UK because this man's presence would cause hatred," he said.

 

"He has a case against him in the Amsterdam court for inciting hatred."

 

'Attacked obviously'

 

Lord Ahmed, who said other Muslim peers shared his concerns, stressed that Mr Wilders' views would certainly present a threat to public order.

 

"When Muslims are attacked obviously you will see people react to that."

 

And Chris Huhne, Lib Dem home affairs spokesman, said he had watched the film, which he called "revolting", and backed the ban.

 

"Freedom of speech is our most precious freedom of all, because all the other freedoms depend on it," he said.

 

"But there is a line to be drawn even with freedom of speech, and that is where it is likely to incite violence or hatred against someone or some group."

 

But Lord Pearson said the decision to bar him was "weak and unacceptable in the extreme".

 

"The Home Office is guilty of appeasement on this, clearly."

 

The peer said the screening would still go ahead on Thursday whether Mr Wilders was present or not.

 

He said the parliamentary authorities were happy for the event to take place but had ordered extra security for it.

 

"The film does not threaten anyone," he said, adding that it simply showed how violent extremists justified their actions.

 

He said the screening would be followed by a debate on issues relating to the Koran, extremism and freedom of speech.

 

 

Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7882953.stm

[cynical lady]

You cannot fight ignorance with a ban.

[Ibtisam]

Islam film Dutch MP to be charged

 

A Dutch court has ordered prosecutors to put a right-wing politician on trial for making anti-Islamic statements.

 

Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders made a controversial film last year equating Islam with violence and has likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

 

"In a democratic system, hate speech is considered so serious that it is in the general interest to... draw a clear line," the court in Amsterdam said.

 

Mr Wilders said the judgement was an "attack on the freedom of expression".

 

"Participation in the public debate has become a dangerous activity. If you give your opinion, you risk being prosecuted," he said.

 

Not only he, but all Dutch citizens opposed to the "Islamisation" of their country would be on trial, Mr Wilders warned.

 

"Who will stand up for our culture if I am silenced?" he added.

 

'Incitement'

 

The three judges said that they had weighed Mr Wilders's "one-sided generalisations" against his right to free speech, and ruled that he had gone beyond the normal leeway granted to politicians.

 

The Amsterdam appeals court has ordered the prosecution of member of parliament Geert Wilders for inciting hatred and discrimination, based on comments by him in various media on Muslims and their beliefs," the court said in a statement.

 

"The court also considers appropriate criminal prosecution for insulting Muslim worshippers because of comparisons between Islam and Nazism made by Wilders," it added.

 

The court's ruling reverses a decision last year by the public prosecutor's office, which said Mr Wilders's comments had been made outside parliament as a contribution to the debate on Islam in Dutch society and that no criminal offence had been committed.

 

Prosecutors said on Wednesday that they could not appeal against the judgement and would open an investigation immediately.

 

Gerard Spong, a prominent lawyer who pushed for Mr Wilders's prosecution, welcomed the court's decision.

 

"This is a happy day for all followers of Islam who do not want to be tossed on the garbage dump of Nazism," he told reporters.

 

'Fascist book'

 

In March 2008, Mr Wilders posted a film about the Koran on the internet, prompting angry protests across the Muslim World.

 

The opening scenes of Fitna - a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife" - show a copy of the holy book followed by footage of the bomb attacks on the US on 11 September 2001, London in July 2005 and Madrid in March 2004.

 

Pictures appearing to show Muslim demonstrators holding up placards saying "God bless Hitler" and "Freedom go to hell" also feature.

 

The film ends with the statement: "Stop Islamisation. Defend our freedom."

 

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said at the time that the film wrongly equated Islam with violence and served "no purpose other than to offend".

 

A year earlier, Mr Wilders described the Koran as a "fascist book" and called for it to be banned in "the same way we ban Mein Kampf", in a letter published in the De Volkskrant newspaper.

 

Mr Wilders has had police protection since Dutch director Theo Van Gogh was killed by a radical Islamist in 2004.

 

Correspondents say his Freedom Party (PVV), which has nine MPs in the lower house of parliament, has built its popularity largely by tapping into the fear and resentment of Muslim immigrants.

[Ibtisam]

Cynical lady, the guy is not interested in anything other than a new "Quran" which is not evil. What kind of dialog could possible take place.

 

Here he is on hardtalk BBC in August 2008. Scroll down to listen. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7842344.st m

[N.O.R.F]

Him being 'invited' to the House of Lords is concerning. What was the intention tolow?

[NGONGE]

Louis Farrakhan has been banned from entering the UK for the past 23 years now. They used to same excuse (worry about causing public disorder). I don't think they should ban either of the two (more so when one is invited by an MP). To ban him just to prove that the British government does not agree with his views but still use rubbish excuses for the ban instead of saying loudly why they did so is really a petty victory for the busybodies of this world.

[Ibtisam]

 

Flirting with Free Speech or Abusing it?

 

The far-right Dutch Islamophobe, Geert Wilders, was today prevented from entering the UK. Wilders is part of a much wider group of Islamophobes on the Continent who whilst hiding behind the pretence of 'the right to exercise free speech' are calculatedly using that privilege to inflame and incite racial and religious hatred .

 

He is currently being investigated by the Dutch courts for using hate-speak. Wilders, a Dutch parliamentarian, is widely known for his campaign to have the Koran banned in Holland. He has also produced a video, Fitna, which seeks to link Islam with terrorism.

 

Wilders has been accused of flirting with free speech. Those who have made an investigation of the Islamophobes might disagree: the word 'flirtation' is a far too gentle description of the abuse which dangerous people like Wilders indulge in.

 

http://tinyurl.com/awmcog

North he was invited by a far right MEP

 

Ngonge:

According to a Guardian poll, it would appear that 83% disagree with the Government's decision to disallow Geert Wilder's entry into the UK.

 

Having written letters of complaint to Jacqui Smith and David Miliband I wonder whether I shouldn't add a postscript congratulating them on bringing the film 'Fitna' to the attention of more people than it otherwise would.