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One year ago today, Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was slaughtered in broad daylight in the streets of Amsterdam by a Muslim born in the Netherlands. He was killed for producing Submission, a film exposing the abuse of Muslim women.
This anniversary garnered some press coverage–but almost all of it overseas. In Amsterdam, the Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and several others spoke at a commemoration ceremony near the spot where van Gogh was killed. While visiting The Hague, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to van Gogh's family.
For some reason, few North American media think it worth mentioning. It was noticed, however, by Terry Mattingly at Get Religion and Francis Fukuyama at Opinion Journal.
[...] What is at stake in the Cartoon Jihad? By StatGuy It is, in my view, essential to remember why the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published those twelve cartoons in the first place. They did not suddenly appear in a gratuitous and unprovoked attempt to ridicule Islam, Mohammed, or Muslims. Kare Bluitgen, a Danish children’s writer, had written a book on the Koran and the life of Mohammed, but was unable to find an artist willing to illustrate it because all those he approached feared the wrath of Muslims. Many specifically cited the fate of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh. Upon learning of this, Carsten Juste, publisher of Jyllands-Posten, commissioned the cartoons in an attempt to counter fear-induced self-censorship. After the cartoons were published, Muslims began rioting in Denmark even while France was still burning. The French riots have died down, only now to be replaced by widespread civil unrest over the Danish cartoons. Why have Muslims reacted with threats, intimidation, violence, and property destruction? Some maintain that Islam prohibits any representation of any living thing. But, says Charles Moore, as a blanket generalization about Islam, that appears to be incorrect. I have beside me a learned book about Islamic art and architecture which shows numerous Muslim paintings from Turkey, Persia, Arabia and so on. These depict the Prophet preaching, having visions, being fed by his wet nurse, going on his Night-Journey to heaven, etc. The truth is that in Islam, as in Christianity, not everyone agrees about what is permissible. [...]
[...] This kind of thing can get you into big trouble in a lot of countries, even Denmark, so download the comic before the cartoonist is arrested–or knifed in the street. [...]
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[...] Holland’s failed immigration model By StatGuy The November 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by Dutch-born Muslim Mohammed Bouyeri has set Holland on edge. The Netherlands has approximately three million legal immigrants (including their children), almost 20 percent of the population. About one million are Muslims, mostly Moroccans and Turks. The latter originally arrived in the 1960s and early 1970s when Netherlands was recruiting “temporary” labourers. [...]
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