Nermin Aydemir JTW Columnist printable version send your friend message to author add comment ()

Friday, 9 January 2009

The Netherlands faces boycott calls from some Muslim countries and reports from Afghanistan do not give good news about the Dutch soldiers in the country after the release of the controversial film Fitna. Still, common sense appears to overcome strife and discord (literally fitna in Arabic) among the Dutch society. Most of the Muslim organizations in the Netherlands gave a condemning but restrained reaction against the film which totally equates Islam with violence.

In fact, the reasonable attitudes of the Dutch; particularly Muslim societies, media, and politicians have contributed a lot to maintain the harmony not only within the country but also abroad.

No Purpose other than to Cause Offense

If truth be told, very little effort seems to be put in the highly sensational film, which is nothing but just an ordinary collection of hate-spreading scenes which can easily be found on the Internet. That no legal permission has been asked from the Danish cartoonist and the confusion of the photograph of a murderer with the one of a Muslim rapper in the country are other hints giving ideas about how much time has been spent in making the film. Biased selection comes forward as the most dominant characteristics of Fitna. The producers of the film act as if knowing nothing about countries with multiple religions and secular Muslim states such as Egypt, Jordan and Turkey.

Most probably due to living under severe guardianship in a four square meter office and surfing the web to find the most brutal images of a religion the entire day, the maker of the film, far rightist MP Geert Wilders, appears to act under significant emotional distortion. What the Dutch need to do seems to save the immigration discourse from an obsessed hatred against the Muslims in this country.

Extremist Shaping the Public Opinion

A significant number of hardworking and talented people as well as many respectful institutions put significant effort to make things easier for minorities of the country. Studies conducted by Dutch academicians appear on the top of the lists when one searches the immigration issue. Yet the endeavors of those are sometimes vulnerable to be lost amid discourses spreading hate. Immigration, foreigners, integration, Islam and the like mostly come to the agenda with the initiatives of those who try to abolish all these. Accordingly, discourses on those issues are largely shaped by people who perceive the world from their polarized perspectives.

One needs to underline the role of the media at this point. Sensational news is nearly all the time most welcomed by media whose success is closely related to the number of the audience. In other words, however hard people work to do things better media is much more inclined to focus on provocateurs than those doing good job. This has also been the case in the Netherlands, especially after 9/11. Yet, the Dutch media deserves an appreciation when it comes to the last attack of Mr. Wilders which serves no purpose other than to cause offense as the PM Balkenende states. No Dutch TV channel aired the film despite all its sensational impacts. The Dutch government can also be regarded as quite successful in managing the situation. Although not being the one who brought the issue to the public first, the Balkenende cabinet succeeding in reformulating the case through shaping the public opinion on the one hand and reassuring Dutch Muslims on the other.

Concluding Remarks

All in all, the main burden seems to be on the shoulders of the Muslim minorities of the Netherlands. Dutch Muslims need to present their own Islam if Islam presented by Wilders is not the one of their own. Muslim minorities need to provide their own explanation of Islam for those seeking information. A lot remains to be done to provide the Dutch society information sources other than the provocative film of Mr. Wilders. The Muslim minority influence still remains to be limited in terms of contributing to the context by which news stories influence how people perceive and evaluate issues and policies.