Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel urged Muslims to boycott Dutch goods in response to a film by a far-right Dutch politician that insults Islamic values and links the holy Koran to violence.
“The Muslim world should boycott products from any country attempting to insult Islam,” Haddad Adel said Sunday.
The remarks by the Iranian parliament speaker followed a 17-minute-long anti-Islam film produced by Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders, which mocks at Islam and Muslims’ Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
The movie titled “Fitna” features shocking insults to Islam and Islamic values. It urges Muslims to tear out “hate-filled” verses from the Koran and starts and finishes with a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) with a bomb under his turban, originally published in Danish newspapers.
Last week, Iran summoned Dutch Ambassador Radinck van Vollenhoven to protest at the film.
The envoy, for his part, voiced sorrow about the broadcast of the “anti-Islamic” film and emphasized that it was condemned by the Dutch government.
Meantime, A Non-Governmental Organization in Iran has started production of a documentary called ‘Beyond Fitna’ to respond to the far-right Dutch politician’s provocative dissertation.
According to FNA reports, the Iranian organization called ‘NGO Islam and Christianity’ has already started production of the documentary.
The NGO’s documentary called ‘Beyond Fitna’ deals with incitement of violence in the Bible. Muslims believe that the book deemed holy by Christians today is a distorted version of the original Bible.
‘Beyond Fitna’ focuses on the orders given to worldwide Christians in the (distorted version of) Bible for stoking violence, committing genocide, attacking others, beheading and burning women and children who have been taken into captivity.
The documentary recycles film clips from crimes committed by extremist Christians under the inspirations of the said Bible teachings, and aims to provide a response to the allegations made by Pope Benedict XVI, who called Islam a religion of violence after misunderstanding certain Organic verses.
‘Beyond Fitna’ is produced while an overwhelming wave of protest is shown by worldwide Muslim and Christian communities against Wilder’s movie.
Wilders’ provocative movie sparked worldwide protests even before it hit the Internet on March 27.
Wilders’ movie is a documentary-style exposé of American trash-journalist Bill O’Reilly’s militant calls for violent demonstrations and reprisals against “unbelievers” who dare to oppose his dogma.
Australia condemned the Dutch lawmaker’s anti-Quran film, with the foreign minister calling it “highly offensive.”
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith rejected the film’s premise of equating Islam with acts of terror and violence.
“It is an obvious attempt to generate discord between faith communities,” Smith said. “I strongly reject the ideas contained in the film and deplore its release.”
Muslim nations, the European Union and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have all expressed outrage over the film, which has sparked noisy street protests in many Islamic nations.
The Dutch government has distanced itself from Wilders and tried to prevent the kind of backlash Denmark suffered over Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) cartoons.
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said in a televised speech he rejected Wilders’ views and was pleased by the initial restrained reactions of Dutch Muslim organizations.
Thousands of Dutch people demonstrated Saturday in Amsterdam to show that Wilders does not represent the whole country.
Dutch exporters have expressed fears of a possible boycott.
The European Union supports the Dutch government’s approach and believes the film serves no purpose other than “inflaming hatred,” the Slovenian EU presidency said in a statement.
“The European Union and its member states apply the principle of the freedom of speech which is part of our values and traditions. However, it should be exercised in a spirit of respect for religious and other beliefs and convictions.”
