A protest burst out in Pakistan
on Sunday, with 25.000 people gathering to demonstrate against an anti-Koran
film made by a Dutch politician, and urging their government to exile the Netherlands ambassador.
Thousands of members of the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami
marched on the streets of Pakistan
chanting slogans such as “Down with Holland” or “Down
with Denmark,”
while burning Dutch and Danish flags.
The 15-minute film made by Dutch right-wing legislator Geert
Wilders caused much controversy in many parts of the world, depicting Islam as
a ticking time bomb that endangered the West. Even before the film was released
on the Internet, huge protests, involving more than 15,000 people took place in
Afghanistan.
The controversial film, called “Fitna,” which means “strife”
in Arabic, is marked as mature content on the websites that host it, containing
graphic images such as beheadings, violence against women in Islam and
terrorist attacks. The scenes are separated by Koran verses, which promote
violence against believers from other religions. Wilders believes that Muslim
holy book causes Muslims to have this intolerant attitude against Christians
and Jews, who are called “apes and pigs” in “Fitna” by a young Muslim girl.
Many Islamic and Arab leaders were offended by the film,
considering insulting to religion.
A group of protesters also gathered in front of the Dutch
embassy in Tehran,
to demonstrate peacefully. The group consisted of 40 students, who chanted
against America and Israel.
Immediately after “Fitna” was released, the Dutch government
distanced itself from Wilders’ vision, saying it completely disagreed with the
material used to promote hatred among different cultures.
However, Iran’s
parliament speaker addressed the Muslim nations on Sunday, asking them to
boycott Dutch products, in order to protest against the film that denigrated
Islam.
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