Dutch MP launches anti-Koran film online

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By Emma Thomasson

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Right-wing Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders posted a film on the Internet on Thursday that accused the Koran of inciting violence, despite government fears that it will offend Muslims and give rise to protests.

The film was posted on his Freedom Party’s Web site (www.pvv.nl) but could be watched only briefly before the Web site said it was not available for technical reasons.

The 15-minute film called "Fitna", a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife", started with a warning that it contains "very shocking images". It interspersed images of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and other bombings with quotes from the Koran.

The Dutch government has distanced itself from Wilders’ views and fears the film will cause protests by Muslims similar to those sparked by the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in Danish newspapers in 2006.

Before seeing the film, demonstrators have already taken to the streets from Afghanistan to Indonesia to express their anger at the Netherlands, while the governments of Pakistan and Iran have sharply criticised the project.

The film showed a young girl in a headscarf being asked about Jews and answering: "They are apes and pigs," as well as images of Muslim women carrying banners reading: "Be .....continued below

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It showed a graph of the growing number of Muslims in the Netherlands and Europe. After the words "The Netherlands in the future?" it showed pictures of children with blood on their faces, a woman being stoned and an image of genital mutilation.

After the words "Stop Islamisation. Defend our freedom", it showed the Danish cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb under his turban accompanied by the sound of ticking.

Dutch broadcasters refused to show the film and a U.S.-based web service on which Wilders had planned to show his film deactivated the site at the weekend after receiving complaints.

Dutch exporters have expressed fears of a possible boycott in the Muslim world, though trade with such countries makes up only a few percentage points of total exports. There is also concern for 25,000 Dutch citizens living in Muslim countries.

Wilders has been under heavy guard because of Islamist death threats since the 2004 murder of Dutch director Theo van Gogh, who made a film critical of Islam’s treatment of women.

His killing by an Islamist militant triggered a wave of unrest in the Netherlands, home to almost 1 million Muslims out of a total population of 16 million.

Earlier this month, Dutch officials raised the national risk level to "substantial" partly because of the Wilders film and perceptions of an increased al Qaeda threat.

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson, editing by Tim Pearce)