Geert Wilders Trial: Refresher Course
The purpose of this blog post is to remind readers of the background information essential to comprehending the resumption of the trial of Geert Wilders.
This quote is from an English translation of the summons which lists the accusations against Geert Wilders. The summons is 24 pages long, detailing many statements.
The aforementioned summoned person is charged with the fact that
1.
he, on one or more dates in or about the period from 8 August 2007 up to and including 27 March 2008, in The Hague and/or Amsterdam and/or (elsewhere in) the Netherlands, on multiple occasions, at least once, (each time) in public, orally, in writing or through images, intentionally offended a group of people, i.e. Muslims, based on their religion, by (each time) intentionally in
- De Volkskrant and/or
- on the internet on the website www.liveleak.com (in the film Fitna)
placing (having placed) and/or showing (having showed) and/or having heard one or more texts and/or images and/or footage and/or audio fragments with the following content:
(De Volkskrant of 8 August 2007, ‘Enough is enough: prohibit the Quran’)
„A moderate Islam does not exist. It does not exist because there is no distinction between Good Islam and Bad Islam. There is Islam and that is it. And Islam means the Quran and nothing but the Quran. And the Quran is the Mein Kampf of a religion that intends to eliminate others and that refers to those others – non-Muslims – as unfaithful dogs, inferior beings. Read the Quran, this Mein Kampf, again. In whatever version, you will see that all the evil that the sons of Allah commit to us and themselves originates from this book (Oriana Fallaci, The Force of Reason, post-script, page 305, February 2006).‟...
2.
he, on one or more dates in or about the period from 7 October 2006 up to and including 27 March 2008, in The Hague and/or Amsterdam and/or (elsewhere in) the Netherlands, on multiple occasions, at least once, (each time) in public, orally, in writing or through images, incited to hatred of people, i.e. Muslims, based on their religion, by (each time) in
- De Volkskrant and/or
- De Pers and/or
- Dagblad De Limburger-Limburgs Dagblad and/or
on the internet
- on the website www.geenstijl.nl and/or www.pvv.nl and/or
- on the website of Radio Nederland Wereldomroep and/or the Wereldomroep and/or
- on the website www.liveleak.com (in the film Fitna)
[Emphasis added.]
1.
he, on one or more dates in or about the period from 8 August 2007 up to and including 27 March 2008, in The Hague and/or Amsterdam and/or (elsewhere in) the Netherlands, on multiple occasions, at least once, (each time) in public, orally, in writing or through images, intentionally offended a group of people, i.e. Muslims, based on their religion, by (each time) intentionally in
- De Volkskrant and/or
- on the internet on the website www.liveleak.com (in the film Fitna)
placing (having placed) and/or showing (having showed) and/or having heard one or more texts and/or images and/or footage and/or audio fragments with the following content:
(De Volkskrant of 8 August 2007, ‘Enough is enough: prohibit the Quran’)
„A moderate Islam does not exist. It does not exist because there is no distinction between Good Islam and Bad Islam. There is Islam and that is it. And Islam means the Quran and nothing but the Quran. And the Quran is the Mein Kampf of a religion that intends to eliminate others and that refers to those others – non-Muslims – as unfaithful dogs, inferior beings. Read the Quran, this Mein Kampf, again. In whatever version, you will see that all the evil that the sons of Allah commit to us and themselves originates from this book (Oriana Fallaci, The Force of Reason, post-script, page 305, February 2006).‟...
2.
he, on one or more dates in or about the period from 7 October 2006 up to and including 27 March 2008, in The Hague and/or Amsterdam and/or (elsewhere in) the Netherlands, on multiple occasions, at least once, (each time) in public, orally, in writing or through images, incited to hatred of people, i.e. Muslims, based on their religion, by (each time) in
- De Volkskrant and/or
- De Pers and/or
- Dagblad De Limburger-Limburgs Dagblad and/or
on the internet
- on the website www.geenstijl.nl and/or www.pvv.nl and/or
- on the website of Radio Nederland Wereldomroep and/or the Wereldomroep and/or
- on the website www.liveleak.com (in the film Fitna)
[Emphasis added.]
Notice the prominent mention of Fitna, the publication of which is the basic issue, condemned by many government leaders, the OIC, and the Secretary General of the United Nations. The summons goes on to describe the images in the video and list statements made therein.
The first charge is intentionally offending Muslims. The statute, cited on the last page of the summons, makes the issue cut and dried.
Article 137c Dutch Penal Code
Article 137d Dutch Penal Code
- o 1. He who publicly, verbally or in writing or image, deliberately expresses himself in an way insulting of a group of people because of their race, their religion or belief, or their hetero- or homosexual nature or their physical, mental, or intellectual disabilities, will be punished with a prison sentence of at the most one year or a fine of third category.
- o 2. If the offence is committed by a person who makes it his profession or habit, or by two or more people in association, a prison sentence of at the most two years or a fine of fourth category will be imposed.
Article 137d Dutch Penal Code
- o 1. He who publicly, verbally or in writing or in an image, incites hatred against or discrimination of people or violent behaviour against person or property of people because of their race, their religion or belief, their gender or hetero- or homosexual nature or their physical, mental, or intellectual disabilities, will be punished with a prison sentence of at the most one year or a fine of third category.
- o 2. If the offence is committed by a person who makes it his profession or habit, or by two or more people in association, a prison sentence of at the most two years or a fine of fourth category will be imposed.
Truth is not a defense in the statute. How shall the defendant establish proof of his intent? The law, as written, criminalizes truthful speech on the grounds of perceived insult & inciting hatred, discrimination or violence.
Geert Wilders is an elected member of the Dutch Parliament, in that position, he is entitled to discuss public policy. Islamization is a legitimate subject for public discourse; it is taking place in Europe.
Fitna can be viewed in its entirety by clicking this link. It is divided into two parts on Youtube. I will embed the two parts here so that you can view them.
You will see a few verses from the Qur'an and an English translation . You will hear an Arabic recitation and see graphic depictions of the practical application of the verses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37w-aXGk8M0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwwsnAr3rY8
Reuters quotes U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about Fitna:
Who expressed hatred in that video? Who incited violence in that video? The Qur'an, not Geert Wilders is the source of hate and incitement. Wilders exposed hate & incitement, he did not perform it. “There is no justification for hate speech or incitement to violence,” Ban said in a statement. “The right of free expression is not at stake here.”
My earlier blog posts relevant to the trial are linked in the list below.
- Fitna: Supporting Documentation 03/27/08 Qur'an quotes from Fitna and the speech to Parliament, with links to parallel translations & Ibn Kathir's Tafsir.
- Geert Wilders Accused of Blasphemy 06/23/08 Who is the blasphemer: Wilders or Moe?
- Free Speech vs Islam 04/09/09 Comments on a Geert Wilders speech in California. Be sure to read the transcript!
- Geert Wilders On Trial 01/24/10 Two quotes from his remarks and documentation of his Qur'an quotes.
- Geert Wilders: Free Speech on Trial 02/03/10 Analysis of the persecution of Geert Wilders.
- Wilders Trial Web Site 02/04/10 A great site for gathering information about the persecution.
- Geert Wilders Trial: Deceptive Commentary 02/11/10 Six Islam experts sent a letter to the District Court in Amsterdam This post exposes some of their malignant malarkey.
- Interviewer Tries to Trap Geert Wilders 05/01/10
- Wafa Sultan Interview 07/20/10 Interviewed before her testimony in the Wilders trial.
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