Fitna
Fitna is a 2008 short film by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders. Approximately 17 minutes in length, the film shows selected excerpts from Suras of the Qur'an, interspersed with media extracts and newspaper clippings showing or describing acts of violence and/or hatred by Muslims. The film wishes to demonstrate that the Qur'an, and Islamic culture in general, motivates its followers to hate all who violate the Islamic teachings. Consequently, the film argues, Islam encourages, among others, acts of terrorism, antisemitism, violence against women, and Islamic universalism. The film has been accused of encouraging hatred against Muslims or Islamophobia.
Wilders, a prominent right wing critic of Islam, described the film as "a call to shake off the creeping tyranny of Islamization".[1]
Production
The Friends of the Party for Freedom (or PVV) foundation commissioned the film. It contracted a production company credited in the film as "Scarlet Pimpernel Productions", a pseudonym adopted allegedly out of fear of reprisal.[2]
Ruder Finn distributing the film
On 14 December 2008, a conference entitled "Facing Jihad" was organized at the Begin Center in Jerusalem. Those present included Geert Wilders, Arieh Eldad, Robert Spencer,Itamar Marcus, Daniel Pipes, Shlomo Sharan and John David Lewis. During the conference the film Fitna was shown, it was distributed to all conference participants, and it was announced that the film would be shown in several European parliaments. The Ruder Finn PR company organized the conference and set up the group's website,[3] and are also actively distributing the film. Ruder Finn has been distributing the film for free.
During February 2009, Geert Wilders visited (or planned to visit) several European capitals to present the Fitna. He was barred from entering the UK, but his film was nonetheless shown in the House of Lords. Wilders also presented Fitna in Rome (13 Feb 2009). The press releases to promote the showing in both cases was done by Ruder Finn.[4]
On 12 February 2009, Wilders was denied entry to the United Kingdom after being invited by the Lord Pearson of the UKIP and Caroline Cox (Conservative Party) to show his film in the House of Lords.[5]
See also
- Geert_Wilders
- Islam: What the West Needs to Know, a documentary critical of Islam.
- Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, a documentary critical of Islam.
- Submission, a film critical of Islam by Theo van Gogh and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
External links
- Original official website of Fitna (suspended)
- Original English and Dutch versions at Wikileaks
- Second English and Dutch versions at Liveleak
- Maina van der Zwan Geert Wilders' Fitna: Islamophobia on film archive > dated 12 April 2008 | issue 2096 Posted: 7.57pm Tuesday 8 April 2008
Notes
- ↑ Iran Warns Netherlands Not to Air Controversial 'Anti-Muslim' Film FOX News Michael Park date=2008-01-21 accessdate=2008-03-08
- ↑ Rapper wil 25.000 euro van Wilders de Volkskrant date=2008-04-07 accessdate=2008-04-08 Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau
- ↑ client list
- ↑ This is an announcement for the Rome event. announcement (13 Feb 2009) NB: After the event the registration details were removed. The orignal can still be seen in the google cache.
- ↑ Dutch MP refused entry to Britain BBC News d2009-02-12, accessdate=2009-02-12
