Status of Fitna

First, and most importantly, a judge found Geert Wilders “not guilty of spreading hate.” (via Jawa)

Second, the original version of Fitna was removed from LiveLeak by Geert Wilders and replaced with an edited version. The url at LiveLeak has also changed. You can view the new version of Fitna here.

This new version replaces the original Mohammed cartoon drawn by cartoonist Kurt Westergaard with a new cartoon at the beginning and end of the film.

Original cartoon

New cartoon

In addition, the original film used a photograph of rapper Salah Edin, erroneously identifying him as Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch-Moroccan now serving a life sentence without parole for the murder of Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh. The erroneous picture has now been replaced with an actual picture of Bouyeri.

Salah Edin

Mohammed Vouyeri

Several blogs still host the original version of Fitna . One of those is The Jawa Report, but it has received a Cease and Desist Request from Geert Wilders to remove videos of the original film. Rusty has not yet decided whether or not to comply out of courtesy to Wilders. So, if you have not yet watched or downloaded the original film and want to, better do it now.

When I first viewed the newly edited film, I thought the new cartoon was also good. In my view it depicts the intention of Islamists to implement sharia law worldwide, by force if necessary, thus destroying the world as we know it. There is still a ticking bomb which, of course, indicates time is running out for Western societies to defend and protect themselves from that threat. However, the original Mohammed cartoon is a grim reminder of the actual violence and death perpetrated by Muslims around the world after the publication of the twelve original cartoons in the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten. Of all twelve of those cartoons, Kurt Westergaard’s is the most famous, and will be forever and instantaneously linked in our minds with the Mohammed Cartoons Jihad. In my mind at least, there is a difference, though subtle, between the two cartoons. Kurt Westergaard’s cartoon used in the original film is in keeping with the theme of Fitna, i.e., this is what Islamists have actually and recently said and done. Whereas, the new cartoon, to my knowledge, is not associated with any actual violence or threats. Then again, it’s a new cartoon. Give it time.

1:24 pm EST

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Support Geert Wilders

Sign the petition In Defense of Geert Wilders (via Jawa)

To: The Dutch Government

WHEREAS Geert Wilders has exercised his fundamental human right of freedom of expression and spoken out, with facts and evidence, of the threat posed by radical Islam;

WHEREAS certain elements within Islamic communities have threatened a boycott of Dutch goods if Geert Wilders is not punished by the Dutch government for exercising his freedom of expression; and

WHEREAS certain elements in Dutch industry and the Dutch government are suggesting that Geert Wilders be prosecuted civilly or criminally, in order to prevent such a boycott;

IT IS RESOLVED that, in the event that the Dutch government attempts, in any way, to punish or prosecute Geert Wilders, civilly or criminally, for exercising his freedom of expression, the undersigned will initiate a boycott of any and all Dutch goods.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Yes, Muslim countries are demanding he be prosecuted. The Dutch public prosecutor’s office is dutifully investigating “whether the film violated anti-discrimination legislation.” (via Hot Air)

8:12:45 pm EST

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Predictably stupid and weak

Via Instapundit, a post at Centre Right on the release of Fitna:

Speaking to various media about this today, it’s interesting that the first sense of shock is that the footage which Wilders includes is so bloody. Of course Wilders didn’t create this footage – the jihadis did. But it raises an interesting question about the mainstream media. In the last seven years the MSM has gone out of its way to spare the public from seeing the most barbarous acts of our enemies. As we discovered when the BBC infamously pixellated the cartoons two years ago, even Danish drawings have been deemed too upsetting to broadcast of late. The footage in Wilders’ film of the victims of jihad is therefore especially sobering. It isn’t pleasant viewing, but then jihad isn’t pleasant viewing, and if this is what it takes to alert people to the savagery of the threat we all face, Muslims included, then there it is.

I hope as many non-Islamists as possible see the film and consider its implications. But I also hope that the Islamists themselves are not so stupid as to fall into the oldest idiocy of theirs: that is the one which says “Say my religion is peaceful or I will kill you.”

I ask you, who is more predictably stupid and weak, the Islamists or we in the West who are quickly cowered by their threats? They’re counting on the “wussification” of the West (read: strong horse versus weak horse), and so far they’ve been repeatedly proven right. LiveLeak featured the film prominently on their main page yesterday, and made an official statement regarding it. They had to have known when making their decision that the company and its employees would be the subject of threats of violence. Threats, some veiled and some direct, had already been made well in advance of the film’s release. A death fatwa was issued on Geert Wilders. And yet, LiveLeak released the film then backed down and removed it after only one day. Does this latest fiasco not prove the exact points Geert Wilders was making?

11:01:50 pm EST

UPDATE (3/31/08 @ 11:25:00 am EST): Seems I owe Liveleak an apology. They have restored Fitna. My larger point, however, remains.

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Fitna, the movie, on the internet

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UPDATE #3 (4/09/08 ):  Added new links in the text to the revised version of Fitna.

UPDATE #2 (3/31/08 @ 11:05:00 am EST)

LiveLeak retored Fitna! LiveLeak’s statement:

** 30/3/2008: Liveleak Update **

On the 28th of March LiveLeak.com was left with no other choice but to remove the film “fitna” from our servers following serious threats to our staff and their families. Since that time we have worked constantly on upgrading all security measures thus offering better protection for our staff and families. With these measures in place we have decided to once more make this video live on our site. We will not be pressured into censoring material which is legal and within our rules. We apologise for the removal and the delay in getting it back, but when you run a website you don’t consider that some people would be insecure enough to threaten our lives simply because they do not like the content of a video we neither produced nor endorsed but merely hosted.

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The movie Fitna by Dutch MP Geert Wilders was finally released on the internet yesterday. There is a Dutch version and an English version [Update (4/9/08): New link to the new version of Fitna as edited by Wilders. Wilders edited the video, replacing the original Mohammad cartoon with a new one, and replacing a “photograph of Salah Edin, a rapper wrongly identified as Mohammed Bouyeri, with a picture of Bouyeri. See last two paragraphs here.] you can view at LiveLeak.com, as well as Mininova [Update (4/9/08): Original now removed.] and Pirate Bay torrent links for download. Miraculously, YouTube has decided not to remove the film which was uploaded as Part I and Part II, both of which I have embedded in the full post. (All links via Jawa)

If you are not familiar with the short 16 minute film, the controversy surrounding it (not the least of which was the preemptive censorship by an American company, Network Solutions, of the film’s official website prior its release), or the threats made even before its release, read the film’s official page at Wikipedia. (I see that today Wikipedia has added a statement to the top of the page trying to distance itself from the film. Cowards!) For links to the supporting documentation, see the footnote References at the bottom of that page.

Why do I encourage people to watch this film? Because too many of us are still clueless as to the true agenda of Islam. By alternately weaving together passages from the Quran with video clips of recent statements and teachings made by prominent Muslims, and then images of current acts of violence being committed by Muslims today, the film clearly and succinctly makes several important points, namely:

1. Islam and the Quran upon which Islam is based, teach and promote not tolerance of or assimilation into Western democracies, but a loathing and incompatibility with democracy;
2. Islam and the Quran are not tolerant of the ideologies and religions of others, but intolerant [all while so-called “moderate” Muslim apologists claim they seek dialogue and understanding with non-muslims, as well as loudly demanding we must tolerate them and their ideology]; and,
3. Islam and the Quran espouse hatred of all things non-Islamic, violence against societies which are not based upon sharia law [democracies], and death for all people who do not either convert to Islam or submit to the supremacy and rule of Islam.
4. It is Muslims, not non-Muslims, who can and must revise the Quran and reform the violent ideology of Islam.

After you watch this film, every time you hear a Muslim apologist, or Western politician, claim that what you are seeing and hearing “is not the true nature of Islam”, or that “Islam has been hijacked”, or that “Islam is a religion of peace”, you will understand that is not the reality. Do not allow yourself to be blindly led down the path of dhimmitude and Muslim domination by the gutless and cowardly who would willingly trade all our freedoms for temporary safety. If you have not yet educated yourself on the true Islam or its agenda of world domination, use this film as a beginning point. Then, educate yourself on the very real threat to Western civilization and freedom. This is not just a European problem. It is also our problem.

If you’d like to follow the Dutch reaction to the release of the film, a good place to start is the Klein Verzet blog.

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