That a non-Muslim critic of Islam was ritually murdered for artistically expressing his views was something without precedent, not just in Holland but anywhere in the West. Dutch revulsion at the deed shook the deep complacency of what is perhaps the world’s most tolerant society. Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk, one of the five persons threatened, publicly rued the country’s having long ignored the presence of radical Islam. “For too long we have said we had a multi-cultural society and everyone would simply find each other. We were too naïve in thinking people would exist in society together.”What is interesting is how the Dutch reaction puts the lie to "Tolerant Europe":
One day after the murder, 20,000 demonstrators gathered to denounce the killing and 30 people were arrested for inciting hatred against Muslims. Interior Minister Johan Remkes announced that he could not rule out unrest. “The climate is seriously hardened.” Proving him right, the next two weeks saw more than 20 arson and bombing attacks and counter-attacks on mosques, churches, and other institutions, plus some major police raids, giving the country the feel of a small-scale civil war.3,000 people die here, and a few Muslims get harassed on the street. One film maker dies in the Netherlands, and the mosques start burning.
Yeah, we Americans are such uncivilized and unenlightened people.
FrontPage magazine.com
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