Last Friday, during his weekly press conference, Balkenende asked Geert Wilders to stop and think of the consequences of releasing his anti-Islam film. That political signal was well-received in Egypt.

Geert Wilders' controversial film is casting a long shadow. In the Netherlands, the film has been discussed for months already, even though nothing is known about its exact contents. It's unclear whether the film is going to be broadcast on TV, or only via the Internet. But what's certain is that Wilders will deliver a clear anti-Islam message in the film. And, just as with the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, that's going to lead to a commotion, not only in the Netherlands but around the world.
Violent reactions
Dutch companies fear losing business in Islamic countries. Dutch embassy staff abroad fear disturbances. And Prime Minister Balkenende warned last Friday that the film - as soon as it's released - will lead to violent reactions. As an example, he mentioned threats by the Taliban to kill Dutch military personnel in Afghanistan.

Wilders, a threat to freedom of expression in Europe
In the Netherlands, the populist deputy Geert Wilders is threatening to broadcast his anti-Muslim film soon. Numerous Muslim countries have already warned the Dutch government that the broadcasting of the film could have perilous consequences. The Italian editorialist Francesco Merlo reacts to the polemic. "Is it possible that we Westerners will have to give in to the threats and ban the film simply because the thesis of the film is not to the taste of ayatollahs, imams and fundamentalists? A film that has yet to be released, that nobody has seen, but that is already endangering the world's security ... . However, promoting mediocre works of art, films and books that are gratuitously blasphemous and lift unsavoury characters such as Wilders to the rank of persecuted artists, is a way of killing freedom of expression ... ."

AUSTRALIAN and Dutch troops in Afghanistan are bracing for increased Taliban attacks and possible mass protests triggered by an anti-Islamic film made by a far-right Dutch politician.

Even before going to air, the film has added a new risk to an already complex environment confronting the troops based at Camp Holland in Oruzgan province.

The film is the work of Geert Wilders, a maverick MP with bleached bouffant hair who has a constant police guard — a result of his campaign against what he calls the "creeping tyranny of Islamisation" in the Netherlands.

The latest vehicle for his campaign is a 15-minute film that no one has seen and Dutch TV has refused to air. It is due to be launched on the internet this month.

Mr Wilders says the film — titled Fitna, an Arabic word used to describe strife or discord — aims to reveal why the Islamic holy book, the Koran, is so "terrible" and why it is necessary to fight against Islam.

"I hope that it will open people's eyes to the fact that the Koran should be banned like (Adolf Hitler's) Mein Kampf," he told a Dutch news agency.

Last week a Taliban spokesman warned of increased attacks on Dutch forces if the film goes to air. The Taliban have no reason to discriminate between Dutch and Australian troops, whom they regard as "infidel crusaders".

Oruzgan is one of Afghanistan's poorest provinces, and few people have radios, let alone the internet. But the media-savvy Taliban do, and international forces fear they may use the film to inflame local sentiment against foreign troops.

Already there have been protests against the film elsewhere in Afghanistan in a controversy that recalls the response across the Islamic world to the publication by a Danish newspaper in 2005 of cartoons seen by some Muslims as blasphemous. Danish newspapers republished one of the cartoons last month, sparking new protests in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

The Netherlands last week raised its national risk level of a terrorist attack to "substantial", the second-highest level, partly in response to Mr Wilders' film.

Hypothetrical question Jeri and I am not trying the devil's advocate here but just invoke some thoughts. Do you think if we had the immigration under control in Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe there would still have been a demand to produce such movies?

By the way I do think this comment is a bit OTT and unnecessary:

"I hope that it will open people's eyes to the fact that the Koran should be banned like (Adolf Hitler's) Mein Kampf," he told a Dutch news agency.

I guess you guys discovered that the movie is out and that it was a lot less skocking and "offending" then most people thought. It al seems like a trick done by Wilders to focus attention on him and his ideas by having the media severly overhype the media.

The Netherlands has moved its embassy in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, to a hotel due to security worries following the release of a film by a Dutch politician that is critical of Islam.

The embassy was previously housed in a building in a residential neighbourhood in Islamabad.

The film by anti-immigration lawmaker, Geert Wilders, accuses the Koran of inciting violence.

The film has drawn strong condemnation and protests from Islamic countries, including Pakistan.

An al Qaeda-linked Web site last month called for Wilders' death and an increase in attacks on Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan.