Wednesday
(1)Amidst all the kerfuffle over the US elections, I urge you to spare a charitable thought for all those American writers, actors, singers, poets, puppeteers, directors and musicians whose right to dissent will continue to be crushed in George Bush's Amerikkka - a country where it is dangerous to speak out.
Mind you, they can always decamp to tolerant, liberal Europe where they will be free to express themselves:
An outspoken Dutch film-maker was shot and stabbed to death yesterday by a Dutch-Moroccan man in apparent reprisal for his campaign against Islam, sending shock waves through a country that exalts freedom of speech.Theo van Gogh, 47, a provocateur and enfant terrible of Dutch cinema, was ambushed by a bearded man in Arab clothing as he cycled through the heart of Amsterdam.
The Dutch media immediately linked the attack to the director's latest film, Submission, which highlights the repression of women in some Islamic cultures.
Well, after a fashion.
This action doesn't count, because it is that of an oppressed minority. Bushitler is different because he is supported by Jews.
Seriously, the situation in Holland is worrying, thats two prominent critics of Islam who have been shot. I know its hardly a trend, but its not looking good.
Posted by EU-Serf at November 3, 2004 11:08 AM
Yes this is very worrying, alas rather over-shadowed by the Presidential election. It is a very concerning trend.
Posted by Andrew Ian Dodge at November 3, 2004 11:30 AM
A hugely significant event. The fact that it got a little lost in the presidential brouhaha may just mean it does a long, slow smolder.
Posted by S. Weasel at November 3, 2004 03:33 PM
Jullie vallen hier echt door de mand, hoor... Theo van Gogh vermoord en het eerste reactie hier is om het onmiddellijk te verbinden met de volkomen irrelevante amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen... Daar zakt je broek van af...
Posted by Jamisia at November 3, 2004 03:54 PM
En hebben wij ook een vrow met een fatwah tegen haar...
And that's enough (poor) Dutch for today - yes, the woman who collaborated with van Gogh on his film has a fatwah out against her, and the Dutch government have denied her a permit for a personal protection weapon. She does have a 24hr police guard, though... If this stuff continues, I believe that there will be a bit of a backlash (Pim Fontyn was leading the "Grootste Nederlander" poll and may still be, and the dutch themselves are really rather intolerant).
Posted by Meneer Uittenbroek at November 3, 2004 04:11 PM
Meneer:
I was listening to the BBC today, and the woman you mention -- a Muslim from Somalia -- was referred to as a "right-wing politician of Somali descent". I've never heard Muslim women referred to that badly before by the BBC....
Posted by Ted Schuerzinger at November 3, 2004 07:10 PM
The media typically employ the term "right wing" to describe anything they do not like. Thus the Islamofascist junta which rules Iran is "right wing", because they are not "progressive", and anything progressive must by definition be left wing. Thus a muslim woman who opposes the oppression of other muslim women must be right wing. QED.
Posted by John K at November 3, 2004 08:16 PM
His being murdered is shocking. This is the second public person to be killed in Holland for expressing views uncomfortable to the Muslim/Arab population. He was an artist, concerned about human rights. Real human rights, as opposed to the posturing of the politically correct.
Every filmmaker and journalist will be affected by this. In Holland in particular and in Europe in general. The lesson is deadly clear: Writing truths which disturb the Arab/Muslim community is very dangerous. Ofcourse, they always knew this, but the latest murder makes the danger far more palpable.
Not only will it influence journalists and documentarists, it will also influence their employers. A magazine, news agency or production company will wonder whether they (and their premises) will be placed in severe and immediate danger should they hire someone willing to talk about things which the militant Arab/Muslim society disaproves of.
By the way, their calling her "right-wing" is misleading. It makes it sound as though she'd be on Heider's side if she was in Austria. In Britain, she might well have been Labour.
Posted by Hmmm... at November 4, 2004 09:00 AM
"Theo van Gogh vermoord en het eerste reactie hier is om het onmiddellijk te verbinden met de volkomen irrelevante amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen"
Maybe he was murdered because of his terrible film making skills.
De moordenaar is een film criticus, toch?
Posted by max at November 4, 2004 09:53 AM
The point about the way the BBC and other sections of the media apply the term "right-wing" was made very well by Dan Hannan in a Spectator article ages ago:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/article.php?id=1232&issue=2001-10-27(Link)
Posted by Mike Wood at November 4, 2004 03:21 PM
A noninterventionist foreign policy is supposed to protect a nation from Islaimic attack (at least according to the latest O.B.L. video). Sadly Holland proves that this is not the case.
Posted by Paul Marks at November 5, 2004 12:26 AM
