Dutch Court Rules on Geert Wilders and "Fitna"

A Dutch court ruled that Geert Wilders should be prosecuted for inciting hate.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- A right-wing lawmaker should be prosecuted for inciting racial hatred with anti-Islamic statements that include calling the Koran a "fascist book," a Dutch court ruled Wednesday.

Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders made headlines around the world in March 2008 with his film "Fitna," which juxtaposed Koranic verses against a background of violent film clips and images of terrorism by Islamic radicals.

In 2007, Wilders called for a ban on the Koran "the same way we ban 'Mein Kampf."' He said both Adolf Hitler's work and the Muslim holy book contain passages that contradict Western values.

The Amsterdam Appeals Court called Wilders' statements in his film, newspaper articles and media interviews "one-sided generalizations ... which can amount to inciting hatred."

The court's ruling reverses a decision last year by the public prosecutor's office that said Wilders' film and interviews were painful for Muslims but not criminal.

Wilders told Dutch media it was a "black day for myself and for freedom of speech."

The decision set the stage for what will likely be a highly charged trial touching on the declining Dutch tolerance toward a large immigrant population from Muslim countries, mainly Morocco and Turkey. Dutch attitudes shifted markedly after the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a radical Dutch Muslim.

Is this a free speech issue?

Is it a hate speech issue?

Watch Fitna.