| A very interesting piece, including at the link some background I'd missed. |
What started as a trial against Geert Wilders for alleged Islamophobia has nearly turned into its opposite: a historical case about the message of the Quran. The Amsterdam court trying the controversial Dutch politician is now preoccupied with the question of whether this book, sacred to more than a billion believers, can be compared to one of the most vile publications in the history of Western civilization — Hitler's "Mein Kampf." What could possibly go wrong?
| I believe that last bit was sarcasm, in case you'd wondered, dear Reader. |
The three judges hearing the case — no doubt decent, modest, postmodern Dutchmen with a minimum knowledge of Islam and its culture and traditions — will now be forced to debate the nature of a religious text, something that should have never been heard in the court of an enlightened society. In front of the judges and television cameras, the ancient founding text of an entire civilization will be criticized and weighed against one of the most inhumane texts written in the 20th century — without any doubt a deep insult to Muslims, radical or not.
| Is Mein Kampf a perennial best seller in the Muslim world, like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion? The Muslims might not actually be insulted by the comparison, you know. |
There is a way out. The district attorney's office has complied with the appeals court's order to prosecute Mr. Wilders. The trial has started. It should now ask the court for an acquittal. This preposterous trial needs to be stopped right now.
| Please don't hurt us -- we're nice people, really! |
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