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| Europe |
| Iran condemns Dutch MP's Islam remarks as spiteful |
| 2007-02-21 |
| Iran condemned on Wednesday a call by a populist Dutch politician for local Muslims to throw away half the Koran to show national loyalty, and said the Dutch government should prevent further provocation of Muslims. The Iranian embassy in The Hague called the comments made by anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders "spiteful". "Such statements are (a) direct insult to sanctities and ethical values of Islam," the embassy said in a statement. "Inciting hatred and religious intolerance could only be seen as a disservice to the freedom of expression." Wilders said in an interview published last week that Muslims should throw away half their holy book if they wanted to stay in the Netherlands and said he would chase Islam's Prophet Mohammad out of the country if he were alive today. The Dutch government confirmed on Sunday that Foreign Ministry officials had held informal talks with the Saudi embassy in The Hague over Wilders' remarks. The Iranian embassy called on the Dutch government "to take appropriate measures to prevent further provocation of sentiments of Muslims". Wilders, who is seen as an heir to murdered populist Pim Fortuyn and whose new party won nine seats in parliament out of the 150 in November elections, has warned of a "tsunami of Islamisation" in a country home to 1 million Muslims. Living under heavy guard since 2004 when a Dutch-Moroccan killed filmmaker and Islam critic Theo van Gogh, he has campaigned to ban the Muslim burqa veil, new mosques and religious schools and also wants to freeze immigration. On Monday, Wilders said he had decided not to take part in a parliamentary visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan due to threats following his comments, Dutch media reported. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #5 Yeah they are spiteful, so what! Go back to your death to the west chant. |
| Posted by: Angenter Crolugum3645 2007-02-21 17:02 |
| #4 Islamists live in a fictitious, make-believe world where right is wrong, and wrong is right...as long as it's allan's name. You can always find some uneducated, ignorant mullah who can barely read, of at all, to issue a fatwah against anything. How else can you develop a religious culture where the murder of a female is not only tolerated, but demanded if she is raped. How can you justify... against the "sacred teachings" of islam...mass homicide that includes other muslims? |
| Posted by: anymouse 2007-02-21 17:00 |
| #3 iranians and soddies can't even tolerate each other, let alone Dutch christians. How can they expect the Dutch to tolerate them? |
| Posted by: treo 2007-02-21 10:33 |
| #2 Oh the Irony Saudis and Iranians condemning religious hatred!!!! |
| Posted by: Ebbolump Glomotle9608 2007-02-21 09:40 |
| #1 this, from the same country that hosted a holocaust denial hate-fest? |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2007-02-21 09:01 |