Danish Nazi to Dutch Nazi

The Danish cartoonist Mr. Kurt Westergaard has protested to Wilders about using his cartoon without permission.

The Danish Mr. Westergaard also reportedly said that the usage of the cartoon in the new context was not OK!

The publisher of the cartoons Mr. Fleming Rose has criticized Mr. Wilders movie which is calls “simplistic” and “not very well done.”

 Mr. Rose points out that the move does not mention the millions of hard working Muslims living in Europe.

Journalist and author Flemming Rose, the cultural editor of the Danish newspaper

“Jyllands-Posten,” became famous internationally in 2006 for having commissioned and published satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

The controversy that ensued provoked violence in some countries and led to global debate on Islam and free speech. RFE/RL correspondent Jeremy Bransten interviewed Rose about the recent reprinting of the drawings as well as his reaction to the just-released movie by radical Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

 
RFE/RL: I gather you’ve seen Geert Wilders’ movie. Wilders said he made a “very decent film” that was “within the boundaries of the law.”

 

He added that the film was a call for debate. What did you think?

Rose: I think this is like an op-ed in the newspaper. I think it’s a pretty simplistic movie. It’s not very well done. I would compare it to what Michael Moore did in “Fahrenheit 9/11.” It’s a propaganda movie, it’s simplistic. And what’s interesting here is not so much the movie itself, because there’s nothing new in there. What is really interesting are the reactions we are receiving, both within the Muslim world, within the Muslim community in Europe and within European governments. This is what we have to debate.

The film in itself holds nothing new. And I have to stress that Wilders does not even appear in the movie. This movie is made up of documentary pictures linked together by quotes from the Koran. And what Wilders wants to say is that the violence — in 9/11, 7/7 in London, in Madrid, the killing of [Dutch filmmaker] Theo van Gogh and others acts — was committed by Muslims in the name of Islam. And he referred to the quotes in the Koran that — according to the people who committed these acts, justified their actions. So, Wilders didn’t make up things. I just think he didn’t strike the right balance.

Absent in this movie were all the moderate Muslims that also live in Europe and are trying to build a normal life, as everybody else. They were not part of this movie. But you know, I read letters to the editor and op-eds in the newspaper every day that are lacking this kind of balance. And they do not receive the same kind of attention and reactions.

Chasing Windmills and eliminating Islamic influences from Europe: Rebuttal “supporting” Geert Wilders–