Yemeni religious scholars and Muslim nations condemned the offensive anti-Quran film that was launched on Internet websites March 27, 2008. The film, entitled Fitna, was made by Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Dutch parliament, and accuses the Quran of inciting violence.
“Unfortunately, the Arab and Muslim world bears the burden of guilt because of bad images and debasement through the actions of [a few] Muslims, especially Arabs who have abandoned Islam and wasted freedom, dignity and Islamic principles,” said Dr. al-Mourtadha al-Muhatwari, a religious scholar and professor of Islamic Law and Legislation at Sana’a University.
“These Muslims tempt the West to trample our dignity however they want, and do nothing to encourage in those of other faiths the belief that a pride in the history of Islam remains,” he added.
He called for the Muslim world to boycott those states that are defaming Muslims and their beliefs. He also urged these countries to stop their abuse of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in conduct and practices. Al-Muhatwari said, “We must come back to our religion. The boycott is what we can do now and is binding on all Arab and Muslim leaders who commit to stand firm against them.”
Al-Muhatwari added that these insulting incidents and the defamation of religions are inciting violence and terrorism all over the world.
The Yemeni Parliament on Saturday strongly condemned the Dutch film broadcast on the Internet that disrespects the Holy Quran and the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).
The Parliament also condemned the insistence of the film director on the broadcast, pointing out that the film is inflammatory, encouraging deliberate discrimination against Muslims and calls for violence and hatred on the basis of religion, and stressed the need to respect all religions and religious beliefs and the values of dialogue, understanding and common tolerance among all religions, cultures, civilizations and religious groups without prejudice.
They also condemned the use of freedom of expression and democracy as a selective excuse to insult the beliefs of others and incite hatred and discord between peoples.
The Parliament also expressed appreciation for the initiative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in condemning this film, calling on the United Nations to enact international legislation which criminalizes any offense to religions or prophets and holding the offenders accountable by law.
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also condemned the movie as being “offensively anti-Islamic,” saying that, “There is no justification for hateful speech and inciting violence.”
“The real fault lies not [with conflict] between Muslim and Western societies, as some people would like us to believe, but with a small minority of extremists from various quarters who have the benefit of extensive violence and conflict,” Ki-Moon said.
In Brussels, the European Parliament also condemned the film and the Speaker of Parliament Hans-Gert Pöttering strongly attacked the Dutch parliamentarian Wilders, saying in a statement that the content of the film “seems designed to provoke the religious sensitivity of Muslims in the Netherlands, Europe, and the world.” “
On behalf of the European Parliament, I strongly reject the interpretation of the film that Islam is a violent religion,” he added. Pöttering emphasized that “the mutual respect and tolerance among Muslims, Christians and followers of other religions is a prerequisite for living with a peaceful and common respect that also includes respect for the religious sensitivities of others”. He pointed out that he fully endorsed the statement issued by the Dutch government rejecting the film.
The Organization of Islamic Congress, which includes 57 members, expressed that the film is not only aimed at inciting unrest and intolerance among people of different religious beliefs but also endangers world peace and puts stability at risk. NATO said that it feared that the consequences of Fitna would affect the safety of troops in Afghanistan. Indeed, Zabihullah Mujahid stressed that the Taliban would probably increase their attacks on the Dutch military and humanitarian peacekeepers in Afghanistan, if the film were released.
Wilders is the subject of a fatwa, allegedly associated with Al-Qaeda, calling upon Muslims to assassinate him in the name of Islam.
Public protests occurred in Kabul, Afghanistan, while Egypt is closely monitoring the situation.
Iran called the film heinous, blasphemous and anti-Islamic. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation and a former Dutch colony, said it was an “insult to Islam, hidden under the cover of freedom of expression.”
The Saudi Arabian embassy in The Hague said the film was provocative and full of errors and incorrect allegations that could lead to hatred toward Muslims, news agency ANP reported.
Dutch Muslim leaders appealed for calm and called on Muslims worldwide not to target Dutch interests. The Netherlands is home to about 1 million Muslims out of a population of 16 million.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy officially declared that France would provide every necessary support to aid the Netherlands in the suppression of any Muslim violence that would result from the film’s release.
The film Fitna - an Arabic term sometimes translated as “strife” - intersperses images of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and Islamist bombings with quotations from the Q uran, Islam’s holy book.
The movie offers Wilders’ views on Islam and the Quran. The Arabic word ‘fitna’ is also used to describe “disagreement and division among people,” or a “test of faith in times of trial.”
The film urges Muslims to tear out “hate-filled” verses from the Quran and starts and ends with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) with a bomb under his turban. The image is accompanied by the sound of ticking and then flashes of lightning and thunder.
The Danish cartoon that was published in Danish newspapers provoked violent protests around the world and a boycott of Danish products in 2006. Many Muslims believe that any depiction of the prophet is offensive. Some Dutch media sources reported that the Dutch director Theo van Gogh, who made a film accusing Islam of condoning violence against women, was murdered by a militant Islamist in 2004.
However, Fitna’s maker, Wilders, has been under guard because of death threats since the murder of van Gogh, and support for his Party for Freedom rose in anticipation of the film to about 10 percent of the vote.
Wilders has said the 15-minute film will show how verses from the Quran are being used today to incite modern Muslims to behave violently and anti-democratically based on those verses.
Wilders has described the film as “a call to shake off the creeping tyranny of Islamization”.
Sheikh al-Qardawi, President of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars, described the film content as ignorant lies. “What the political Dutchman has done is opened fire on the Holy Quran,” he says.
Al-Qardawi also contended that Wilders’ position was “a series of workshops on Western hostility to Islam.” But he expressed his delight of the position of the Dutch government which openly declared their disagreement with the MP’s views and condemned his actions.
Recently, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Jan Peter Balkenende issued a statement on the film saying, “the Netherlands upholds the principles of freedom and respect. People deserve respect for what matters to them most, their beliefs and their identity. Constitutional liberties must be defended; extremism and terrorism must be resisted.”
“We condemn all threats, including those that have been made against Mr. Wilders. We call on governments to uphold the principles of international laws, such as the obligation it enshrines to protect foreign interests, nations and businesses,” said the Prime Minister.
The Dutch Prime Minister also confirmed in his statement that it is their responsibility to make clear to everyone that the views and actions of this one elected representative are not those of the government. “We defend the core values of freedom and respect. We guarantee freedom of expression and of religion for Muslims as for everyone else.” According to the statement of the Dutch Foreign Ministry, “Mr. Wilders does not represent the opinion of the Dutch government on this issue. Nor does his conception of Islam represent the perspective or policy of the Dutch government in any way.”