A controversial Dutch filmmaker accused by Muslims of ridiculing their religion was stabbed and shot dead on his bicycle today, shocking the Netherlands where the murder was denounced as an attack on free speech.
Theo van Gogh, a distant relative of 19th century Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, stirred controversy with newspaper articles, books and films voicing his contentious views on Islam after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Van Gogh (47) was attacked near a park close to the centre of the Dutch capital in the morning on his way to work in what could be the second political killing in the country in two years after anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn was shot.
Police arrested a man near the scene after an exchange of gunfire in which the suspect wounded a police officer. The suspect, who was wounded in the leg, was a 26-year-old man with dual Dutch and Moroccan citizenship.
Police said the murder was clearly premeditated.
A note was found at the scene and, Dutch media said, it contained lines from the Koran, the Muslim holy book.
Van Gogh, who branded imams women-haters and ridiculed the Prophet Mohammad in his newspaper columns, was hailed as a champion of free speech by some Dutch but others called him an extremist, while Muslims said they found his work insulting.
He had received death threats but had rejected protection after a recent television programme, called Submission, about domestic violence in some Muslim marriages.
"Van Gogh was someone who joined the public debate with outspoken views. He was a champion of free speech. The Netherlands is a country in which people can speak their mind. We must all stand for that," said Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.
Security for politicians was stepped up after the killing of Fortuyn by an animal rights activist ahead of a May 2002 election in which his party took second place.
The Netherlands is home to nearly one million Muslims or 5.5 per cent of the population.