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Iran condemns Dutch MP's Islam remarks as spiteful
Iran condemned on Wednesday a call by a populist Dutch politician for local Muslims to throw away half the Koran to show national loyalty, and said the Dutch government should prevent further provocation of Muslims.The Iranian embassy in The Hague called the comments made by anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders "spiteful". "Such statements are (a) direct insult to sanctities and ethical values of Islam," the embassy said in a statement. "Inciting hatred and religious intolerance could only be seen as a disservice to the freedom of expression." Wilders said in an interview published last week that Muslims should throw away half their holy book if they wanted to stay in the Netherlands and said he would chase Islam's Prophet Mohammad out of the country if he were alive today. The Dutch government confirmed on Sunday that Foreign Ministry officials had held informal talks with the Saudi embassy in The Hague over Wilders' remarks. The Iranian embassy called on the Dutch government "to take appropriate measures to prevent further provocation of sentiments of Muslims". Wilders, who is seen as an heir to murdered populist Pim Fortuyn and whose new party won nine seats in parliament out of the 150 in November elections, has warned of a "tsunami of Islamisation" in a country home to 1 million Muslims. Living under heavy guard since 2004 when a Dutch-Moroccan killed filmmaker and Islam critic Theo van Gogh, he has campaigned to ban the Muslim burqa veil, new mosques and religious schools and also wants to freeze immigration. On Monday, Wilders said he had decided not to take part in a parliamentary visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan due to threats following his comments, Dutch media reported. Posted by: ryuge 2007-02-21 |
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