What We Learned from Fitna
by Mike McNally
I wouldn’t want to tempt fate by suggesting that the storm over Geert Wilders’ Koran-bashing movie Fitna has passed, but the signs are encouraging.
While reaction to the film from Muslim groups and Islamic countries has been predictably hostile, there have so far been no reports of violence linked to the film.
Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia led the protests in the Muslim world, and the film was criticized by the European Union and by Dutch politicians. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said there were “major concerns” that the film could “lead to reactions that endanger public order, security and the economy”, but Wilders’ countrymen at least defended his right to free speech. The movie was also condemned by no less a figure than UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who called it “offensively anti-Islamic”.
