AMSTERDAM — A Dutch lawmaker who produced a 15-minute film critical of Islam has seen his website suspended by U.S. domain registrar and website host Network Solutions Inc.According to Network Solutions, the movie’s website may violate NSI’s acceptable use policy. It became aware of the site after receiving “a number of complaints,” according to a note posted on the site.
Entitled, Fitna — an Arabic word meaning “test of faith in times of trial” — calls the Quran “fascist” and describes Islam as “the enemy of freedom,” according to filmmaker Geert Wilders. He had planned to release the film on television at the end of March, but when no one would agree to air it, he turned to the Web instead. Although the film has yet to be posted at the site, news of the website’s existence and the film’s content was enough to spur NSI to act.
“In this situation with the dialogue that’s happening throughout the world, we’ve made the choice to suspend [FitnaTheMovie.com] as of last night,” NSI spokeswoman Susan Wade told the Associated Press on Sunday. “This site is suspended so people can’t see the content right now, but the customer still has access to their site. They can make whatever changes are necessary as we complete our investigation.”
NSI’s terms of service contain a sweeping prohibition against “objectionable material of any kind or nature.” Still, it hosts the website for Hezbollah, a political organization based in Lebanon. The U.S. government has labeled Hezbollah a terrorist group.
Wilders is the leader of an anti-immigration faction within the Dutch Parliament. The group currently holds nine of the 150 seats in the legislative body. He lives under police protection because he has received death threats for his outspoken opinions. Still, he is determined that the public see Fitna.
“If necessary, I’ll go hand out DVDs personally on the Dam [Amsterdam’s central square],” he told Dutch press agency ANP.
In response, between 2,000 and 3,000 residents of The Netherlands on Saturday protested on the Dam to demonstrate Wilders’ views are not shared by everyone in the country. Protesters of mixed ethnicities carried signs emblazoned with sayings like “Standing Together Against the Right-Wing Populist Witch-Hunt,” according to Daily Tech. Dutch authorities fear the movie could precipitate violence in much the same way cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in an unfavorable way did when they were published in Danish and Dutch newspapers two years ago. The cartoons were the catalyst for demonstrations outside embassies worldwide and led to at least one murder.
Muslim groups have lodged a complaint with a Dutch court, which on March 28th will decide whether the film should be barred from any distribution in order to protect Dutch interests worldwide.
