Moroccan mosques in the Netherlands have published a cartoon mocking right-wing politician, Geert Wilders – less than 24 hours before he is due to broadcast caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad on national television at lunchtime today.
Dutch embassies around the world, and particularly in Islamic countries, have been placed on alert for protests in the aftermath of the first airing of the cartoons, with two more due on June 24th and July 3rd – but the response from Muslims in the Netherlands has so far been low-key.
The dates of the three broadcasts have been timed by Mr Wilders for maximum impact by coinciding with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began on Wednesday evening and which commemorates the revelation of the Koran to the prophet.
Mr Wilders decided to use air time allocated for party political broadcasts to publicise the cartoons – the same ones shown at a contest in Texas last month where two attackers were shot dead by police – after he was refused permission to exhibit them in the grounds of parliament.
In one completely unexpected reaction, the council of Moroccan mosques in the Netherlands, which represents about 80 mosques in the major cities, advised all Dutch people, “whatever their religion”, that the best way to deal with Mr Wilders was to “shrug, and ignore him”.
Fuse
They’ve published a cartoon of the Freedom Party leader which shows a multi-ethnic group strolling along a street with their children under the heading, “We Continue to Build the Netherlands” – while above them floats a giant black balloon with Mr Wilders’ face, trailing a lit fuse like a bomb.
Mr Wilders is currently awaiting trial for allegedly inciting racial hatred, and the cartoon has the words “fewer, fewer” emerging from his mouth, a reference to the chant at an election rally calling for fewer Moroccans in the country – the chant that led directly to the charges against him.
Provocations and insults
“We want to show that humour is the best way to respond to Wilders’ provocations and insults”, declared Aissa Zanen, a spokesman for the mosques, who said the cartoons had been posted at railway stations in Amsterdam and around the country, and on social media.
“With Wilders, unfortunately, there is no dialogue. Communication is one-way. But we would like to see Muslims and non-Muslims alike responding as we have done, by making fun of him with the pen and the brush. That is our message.”
Reminding his 433,000 followers on Twitter last night that his cartoons of the prophet will be broadcast at 12:49pm local time today, Mr Wilders tweeted in Dutch and English: “Freedom of speech must always prevail over violence and terror.”
Having finally unveiled his seven-party right-wing alliance in the European Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Wilders has pledged to “stop immigration from Islamic countries” by closing Europe’s borders.
