Published on Feb 18 2009 by Farooq Aftab - Huddersfield

I WRITE in relation to the controversial right wing Dutch MP, Mr Geert Wilders who has been refused entry to the United Kingdom to broadcast his controversial anti-Muslim film Fitna in the House of Lords.

I commend the decision of the UK authorities to refuse him entry in to the UK, particularly asŠ Mr Wilders’ views contradict many of the values of peace, integration, religious freedom and tolerance that the United Kingdom stands for.

In the last 18 months, Mr Wilders has said: “I don’t hate Muslims, I hate Islam ... Islam is a violent religion”.

He has suggested that Muslims should “tear out half of the Quran if they wished to stay in the Netherlands” because it contained “terrible things” and “If Muhammad lived here today, I would propose he be tarred and feathered as an extremist and driven out of the country,” and would “in these days be hunted down as a terrorist”.

He has called the Holy Quran a “fascist book”, which should be outlawed in the Netherlands, like Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

He stated that: “The book incites hatred and killing and therefore has no place in our legal order.”

Clearly such statements are highly provocative and serve no useful purpose at all other than to show the extreme nature of Mr Wilders, breed extremism in the UK and incite racial hatred.

In his film, Mr Wilders has edited certain parts of the Holy Quran and played them alongside violent images of the terrible acts and atrocities committed by extremist terrorists seeking to further political aims– which are so far removed from the peaceful Islam to which hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide subscribe.

By quoting the Quran out of context with images of burning bodies and screaming, fanatical clerics (who although in the minority, unfortunately, do exist) we see what Mr Wilders’ intentions are.

This is a deliberate attempt to malign the name of Islam and present a distorted view to the public.

Geert Wilders is supposed to be a responsible leader of our global community but his behaviour and actions are to the contrary.

There is little difference between his views and those of the far right.

Hiding behind the veil of freedom of speech, Mr Wilders is deliberately attempting to provoke Muslims and cause them pain and anguish. The showing of this film will do nothing more than create unrest and divisions in our society.

Freedom of expression cannot be used as an excuse or licence to deliberately play upon people’s heartfelt sentiments. With freedom comes certain responsibilities which Mr Wilders has clearly failed to live up to.