Muslim States Slam Dutch at UN on Islamophobia, Film

April 15, 2008

Author: Stephanie Nebeha

Source: Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUSL15774337

Muslim countries led by Iran and Pakistan called on the Netherlands on Tuesday to combat what they called rising Islamophobia and discrimination against immigrants in Dutch society.

Condemning a film released by Dutch member of parliament Geert Wilders that accuses the Koran of condoning violence, they also urged Dutch authorities to prosecute its author for inciting hatred against Muslims.

The video "Fitna", launched last month on the Internet, urges Muslims to tear out "hate-filled" verses from the Koran and starts and ends with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb under his turban, accompanied by a ticking sound.

"Despite an impressive array of (Dutch) laws and an elaborate framework to combat racism and xenophobia, recent actions by individuals to incite racial hatred and religious intolerance have shocked Muslims around the world," Pakistan's ambassador Masood Khan told the U.N. Human Rights Council.