The controversial film 'Fitna' by right wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders was briefly on the internet. It has since been taken off but I'm sure you could still find it somewhere on Youtube, if you must. In the film Wilders argues that Islamic Ideology's goal is to destroy freedom and it will do this through violent means as dictated in the Koran. After the launch of it there were protests in Indonesia, outside the Dutch Embassy, by Muslims calling for Wilders death. How dare he call them ignorant violent nutters! Irony must be unislamic.
Now although I agree Wilders makes some points of merit, unfortunately I feel his film is both clumsy and nasty. Not just by its use of gross and deeply offensive imagery but also with its unbalanced and over simplistic message. It was, put simply, hateful. This wasn't just someone opposed to the nonsense and dangers of religion but rather it seemed to me to smack of racism. I felt it was very similar to the anti Jewish Nazi propaganda films of the Twenties and Thirties.
The film's purpose was not to educate or elucidate but to increase loathing and fear in its audience of all things Islamic/foreign. I half expected the film to end with the Grinning Gorgeous Aryan Bombshell Geert asking us for our vote. Sieg Heil!
One of the problems of actively fighting for secularism in this age of Islamist terror campaigns* is that the Nazi fleas will soon start cosying up. As a humanist I think all racism is wrong and have actively fought against it for over 30 years. I will not follow the creed of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Nazis are not and never will be my friend nor the friend of freedom and humanity. It is something we Secular Humanists need to challenge whenever it raises its ugly head. Humanism is a positive philosophy of life, mean spirited xenophobia has no place in it.
So watch the film if you want. It is gruesome in content and more importantly I feel, in intent.
*I know, I know, for some reason we don't call Bush and Blair's war in Iraq a Christian terror campaign. Islamists torture, Christians just go in for a bit of rendition. Islamist bombers are cowardly murderers – Christian B52 bombers who kill by the thousand, are heroes. It must be true it's on the telly.
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1 comment:
Godwins law leaps out here but I feel I must comment anyway.
You suggest that Wilders film is like the anti Jewish Nazi propaganda. However consider this. If the Nazi's had won the war in Europe (and they did come close) what would be the Nazi states attitude to Jews.
It is likely that there would be Jews living somewhere. Probably in the USA. Who would be protected from the Nazi regime. But there would not be any in Germany.
Now lets look at various states around the world in Mauritania, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iran being gay is punishable by murder. All islamic states.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamic theocratic monarchy in which Islam is the official religion; the law requires that all Saudi citizens be Muslims. Religious freedom is virtually non-existent. The Government does not provide legal recognition or protection for freedom of religion, and it is severely restricted in practice. As a matter of policy, the Government guarantees and protects the right to private worship for all, including non-Muslims who gather in homes for religious practice; however, this right is not always respected in practice and is not defined in law. Moreover, the preaching and public practice of non-Muslim religions is prohibited.
That is how they want it worldwide. Its weapons are time and telling everyone that islam is the religion of peace which it is as long as you are a muslim. However if you do not agree then the koran authorises death. Now some muslims don't care they are happy with live and let live. You think what you want and I'll think what I want. However when non muslims or gays are killed the response is silence. No protests about inhumanity of it all. They support it.
So I think that Wilders is like the MPs in the UK (Churchill During his "wilderness years" in the late 1930s, was one of the first to warn against Britain's appeasement) before WW2 broke out who were warning is of the threat of the Nazi's and being ignored because no one wanted to face the unpalatable truth. In this case the muslims are the Nazis and non muslims are the jews.
People of muslim background who are non religious make excellent citizens. So we should be supporting groups like the Council of Ex Muslims.
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