An Ordinary Dutch Life - Wall Street Journal
Heinrich
THE HAGUE -- When Geert Wilders rose from his desk, his head almost
touched the narrow ceiling. The tiny corner office underneath the
parliament's roof wasn't selected for space but security. Possible assassins
can only come from one direction, making life easier for the two bodyguards
outside.
By DANIEL SCHWAMMENTHAL
Mr. Wilders has been living under 24-hour police protection ever since
the assassination of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh two years ago. The
Dutch-Moroccan who stabbed and shot van Gogh in Amsterdam left death threats
behind against him and the Netherlands' other, more famous critic of Islam:
Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Like the Somali-born politician, Mr. Wilders has had to
take refuge in army barracks, safe houses, even a prison cell.
The lawmaker's life is in danger because of his criticism of radical,
or, as he calls it, "mainstream" Islam. In Mr. Wilders's view, Islam hasn't
been "hijacked" by radicals. Rather, radicalism is embedded in the faith.
"It's a violent religion, an intolerant religion," he said matter-of-factly
in an interview.
This Wednesday, the Dutch go to the polls and Mr. Wilders's Party for
Freedom is expected to pick up about six seats in the 150-seat parliament.
His provocative thesis and calls for a five-year moratorium on non-Western
immigration make it easy for his political opponents to dismiss him as a
racist. But he will have none of that. "I make a distinction between the
religion and the people. I believe in the people, I believe that Muslims can
integrate in society. But I don't believe in a European, moderate Islam to
come in the next 10,000 years."
Thus accused of violent tendencies, radical Muslims are calling for
his head. "Videos on Islamic Web sites show my picture and name to the sound
of what appears to be knives cutting through flesh while a voiceover says I
will be beheaded," Mr. Wilders said calmly. "You never get used to it but
you learn to live with it." Harder to accept is that his wife is suffering
as well. "Everything I do, even if people strongly disagree with me, I do
within the boundaries of democracy. And even though I know that I'm not
responsible [for this situation], I know it's the result of the things I
say, the things I do. It's not, though, the result of what my wife does. She
often even doesn't agree and still she is in the same situation. I find it
difficult to bear that everything is happening to her as well."
Is there outrage in the Netherlands about his situation? He first
avoids a direct answer. "This is now, today, my problem but in a larger
sense it is also a problem for democracy, the rule of law," he said. When
pressed on the point, his response paints a troubling picture. "Real
outrage? No. There was more outrage when a major paper once wrote how much
the security for Ayaan and me costs," he said. "There were times when Ayaan
and I said to one another and sometimes to the public, 'In what country do
we live that things that are clearly not normal are almost being seen as
normal or more or less ignored in public discussion and public life?'"
You don't have to share Mr. Wilders's views to realize that the
threats against his life also threaten Dutch democracy. And yet the Dutch
seem indifferent to his plight. Wednesday's elections in the Netherlands
will choose the first new parliament since van Gogh's murder and the start
of Mr. Wilders's ordeal. You'd expect these events to feature high on the
national agenda. But the most remarkable aspect about the major parties'
campaign is the absence of any serious discussion of terrorism, Muslim
integration, or the Dutch troops in Afghanistan. It's mostly about tax
breaks, pensions and health care. Quite rightly, the economy is always on
voters' minds -- but to the near-exclusion of national security? According
to a survey from this summer, terrorism is only the fifth-most-important
issue for the Dutch. The country's antiterror coordinator recently warned of
the continuing radicalization of young Dutch Muslims. Just two weeks ago,
six people were arrested on terrorism charges.
Any sense of urgency the Dutch may have had after van Gogh's murder is
lost. Back then, Deputy Prime Minister Gerrit Zalm declared "war" on radical
Islam. Van Gogh's murder was even referred to as "our Sept. 11." Visitors to
the Dutch "Ground Zero" will search in vain, though, for even a simple sign
indicating the spot of van Gogh's near-decapitation. The second anniversary
of his murder a couple of weeks ago passed without any official ceremony.
Antiterrorism and immigration laws may have been tightened, but the latter
measures in particular often lack the necessary finesse to address the
country's real threats.
Understandably, the Dutch long for the days when their small country
only consumed international news without making any. The rest of the
Continent is not much different. Each terror attack or death threat briefly
fills the airwaves before Europeans again pretend everything is normal.
Meanwhile, the list of dissidents like Mr. Wilders is growing. Recent
additions include Robert Redeker, a French philosophy teacher, in hiding
since his September op-ed criticizing Islam, and Ekin Deligöz, a German
member of parliament of Turkish descent. She has been put under police
protection last month after receiving death threats for suggesting that
Muslim women abandon the veil.
Europeans can keep pretending all this is normal. But only until the
day they find their names on that dissident list as well.
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