Fitna Launched

The controversial movie Fitna is now out and can be found on several websites and youtube links despite massive blocking attempts by the PTA. It is an almost 20-minute movie and attempts (to an extent successfully I think) to put terror of Islam and Muslims in the minds and hearts of all who watch it.

It starts out with a recitation of some verses (with references) in the Quran followed by images of 9/11 and other bombings and acts of terror carried out by fanatics in the name of Islam, in an attempt to link the verses with these acts. It goes on to show clips of hate speeches and anti-West/anti-Jewish rhetoric of some known and unknown clerics and imams across the world, including various parts of Netherlands and Europe and more videos/newsclips of actual deeds done by Islamist extremists which reflect support for this type of hate-thinking.

The movie clearly shows the various restrictive ideologies in practice and the dismal state and treatment of women, children, gays and non-muslims in Muslim countries, and points to the rising number of Muslim immigrants in Europe who are calling for curbing Western freedoms in the West and implementing these ideologies. If various imams in Europe's mosques actually do preach the kind of hate that the movie has shown them to do, then I am not surprised with the fear of Islamization that Wilders is attempting to create in his viewers.

Personally I find it an unacceptable idea that immigrants (from anywhere) come to a society in search of a better life and then forcefully try to impose their own drastically different ideologies on the adopted society expecting it to yield and submit instead of themselves adapting to the new society! Why choose to live in the West if Western norms are so not acceptable?

This problem is not just the West's. Pakistan is also a victim of exactly the same phenomenon. Thirty years ago Pakistani society was far more tolerant and free than it is today. It was the Afghan war and the consequent influx of Afghan refugees and the Taliban and their unacceptably intolerant ideology that has brought about the dismal state of affairs that Pakistan is in today, i.e., in the heart and frontline of the war on terror. It is sickening to know that the governments of the time and also successive ones did not do enough to stop the growing menace of religious fundamentalism and extremism in the country.

Coming back to the movie, I think it should be allowed a viewing because it gives an insight to the way Islam and Muslims are being perceived today by the West and the very reasons for this as well. We cannot put the onus on Western societies to understand and accomodate us if we are not willing to face our own internal issues and deal with these - no one (and especially no one in Pakistan) can deny that religious extremism is indeed a huge problem we need to deal with, and deal with as a top priority.

It is not simply freedoms of the west but the very survival of our own society that is at stake here. We all MUST say a huge, resounding NO to extremism.
It must begin at home.

Fitna

Dutch MP Geert Wilders, known for his anti-Islamic views, has chosen the word 'Fitna' as the new title for his 15-minute, explosive anti-Islamic film to be released in March. The word fitna is Arabic and occurs a number of times in the Quran, referring to spreading malice or having malicious intent.

According to Mr Wilders, “I insisted on using a phrase that’s also found in the Koran. Islam and the Koran are my ordeal. I use the term in an inverse sense… For me the poisonous Koran is fitna.”

The 15-minute movie will apparently contain an animated cartoon of the prophet Mohammed, and some Dutch media have suggested that the end will show Wilders burning a copy of the Quran.

Fearing an international backlash against the Netherlands, the Dutch government already has instructed its embassies worldwide on how to act after the movie has been released. Security at Dutch embassies is to be increased, while Wilders has been advised to go into hiding abroad after the movie is released. Wilders is already under constant security protection since 2004 because of threats to his life due to his very vocal criticism of Islam in the wake of the murder of Dutch film director Theo Van Gogh.

The debate between provocation and freedom of expression is a very interesting one and has been ongoing for quite some time now, but the question is where do we draw the line? There is a serious need for engaging in reflection and constructive dialogue over this. In the same context, what would we call this movie, freedom of speech or fitna?