Strife over Fitna

After the publication of a series of cartoons on Prophet Mohammad in 2005 by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten led to the burning...

After the publication of a series of cartoons on Prophet Mohammad in 2005 by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten led to the burning of the Danish Embassy in Syria and more violence around the world, a film by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders that includes one of those cartoons has provoked protests in Muslim countries. The film, Fitna, juxtaposes images of the Quran with acts of Islamic terrorism around the world. Sensitive to their Muslim populations, the European Union too has condemned the film as having 8220;no other purpose than inflaming hatred8221;. While British Foreign Minister David Miliband has stressed the importance of freedom of speech, he has said it should be combined with 8220;respect for religious and racial diversity8221;:

February 17, 2008: Geert Wilders, a right-winger Dutch politician and leader of the Party For Freedom, puts finishing touches to his 15-minute short film Fitna 8212; an all-encompassing Arabic word, referring to schism, secession, upheaval and anarchy at once 8212; 8220;seeking to show the real face of Islam8221;

March 22: The Dutch Muslim Broadcasting Association NMO offers to air the film if Wilders takes part in a debate after the airing with proponents and opponents. Wilders turns down the request

March 27: Wilder8217;s film is released on the Internet and withdrawn within 48 hours

March 27: Dutch companies doing business in the Middle East condemn the film and take up the matter with the Dutch Government. Dutch parliamentarians of the largest political parties also distance themselves from Fitna, saying it does not present any solutions to the current problems in the Dutch society 8212; integration of Muslim immigrants and Muslim extremism

April 1: Indonesia says it would block access to YouTube unless the video-sharing website removes the film within 48 hours. Communications and Information Minister Mohammad Nuh said the government sent a letter to the site informing it of its demand.

Protests across the world

February 2008: Pakistan internally bans YouTube for several days after reports of a Fitna trailer. This accidentally causes the YouTube site to be unavailable worldwide for two hours. Pakistan has called for a discussion of Fitna at the next Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit

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March 30: Wilders is the subject of a fatwa, allegedly associated with the al-Qaeda, calling upon Muslims to assassinate him

March 30: Syria8217;s Grand Mufti Ahmad Badr al-Din says that if Wilders pictures the image of a burning Quran in his film, the Dutch people will be held responsible and possible attacks against Western public interests are not out of the question

April 1: Iran threatens to review its diplomatic stance with Netherlands should the film be aired

April 1: Indonesia, the world8217;s most populous Muslim nation, says it would block access to YouTube unless the video-sharing website removes the anti-Muslim film within 48 hours

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April 2: Malaysian dairy producer, Dutch Lady Milk Industries, takes out newspaper advertisements to denounce the film in a bid to appeal to Muslims not to boycott its products

April 2: In Afghanistan, Dutch and Danish flags are burnt outside the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture. The protesters, mostly women, ask Danish and Dutch troops to leave Afghanistan.

A 40-store Malaysian supermarket chain marks Dutch products with red labels, giving customers the option of boycotting them. It has decided to put up notices and posters to explain the protest and allow customers to choose whether to buy Dutch products