Guest editorial by Steve Oh

The Muslim world is in an uproar over Dutch member of parliament Geert Wilder's 15-minute film FITNA.

Youtube hosted it but due to protests from Muslims had to remove it. Many who have not seen the film are up in arms because of hearsay. I scoured the Internet and managed to find a website that hosts it and you can make your own judgment. Even the service provider that hosts the film has temporarily stopped it due to legal problems but I managed to find this one on a Christian website:

www.liveprayer.com/fitna.cfm
There is no reason for any peace-loving and God-fearing Muslim to be upset because the film does not insult Islam or defames the religion, as their critics claim. It merely quotes passages of Koranic text along with images of real events that we have all seen on television news. The film merely highlights the agenda of radical Islamists of the ilk of Osama Bin Laden. It has no relevance to peaceful Muslims.

Mr Wilder is merely concerned that radical Islamists are taking over his country and Europe, and is sounding the alarm. It may not be politically correct to many but it is a message that needs to be sounded nevertheless, according to the film's producer. The grim prospect of having to live with Islamic law concerns many Christian Europeans, not to mention many Muslims themselves in countries
like Malaysia and Indonesia which are fundamentally secular but experience creeping Islamization. Even Islamic but secular Turkey is concerned.

When you consider that many Islamic countries, e.g., Saudi Arabia, ban Christians openly practising their faiths Mr Wilder's concern is not unreasonable. The most vocal and violent groups against Mr Wilder are only bearing out the thesis of the film.

We have all watched documentary films of WW2 and seen images of Hitler and war events which are not dissimilar in their message against radical extremism. Many Muslims themselves will also be upset by the stand of the extremists depicted in the film, and Malaysia especially with its brand of Islam would be among the first Muslim nations to distance itself from their message of violence and dominance.

In a sense the film contains the same argument of American President George Bush in his war on terrorism, without the direct references to the Koran. It is a stand taken by many Muslim countries including Malaysia and Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world.

The question we should ask is, "Do Muslims really think the Koran verses quoted in the film should apply today?" The simple answer is that countries like Malaysia and Indonesia obviously don't think they do, and to their credit and the credit of their governments the Islam in those countries are not like what is described in the film. But the resurgence of the militaristic views of extreme militant radicals and terrorists like Osama Bil Laden accompanied by terrorist acts have only sullied the image of Islam.

More recently, even in somewhat moderate Islamic Malaysia, there is a resurgence of religious persecution, and Christians books have fallen victim. John Stott's Basic Christianity in Malay is banned, and the use of the pre-Islamic word Allah by Christians too. Sunday school text books depicting the Old Testament prophets Abraham, Moses and others were confiscated by the authorities,which has resulted in a legal suit by the church affected. But recent electoral setbacks in the country saw five state governments fall into opposition hands and one of the chief ministers is a Christian. Not all Muslims support the religious agenda of the extremists.

I think this is something for all peace-loving and intelligent people to ponder. Any dogma that preaches hatred and destruction of those who don't agree with it deserves to be condemned, regardless of the religion. Any ideology that promotes hatred and violence should not be given immunity behind the skirts of religion.

Human civilization has come a long distance and paid a heavy price to attain world peace and religious tolerance. We cannot regress into a time of barbarism, to a an era when force was the legitimate means to promote ideology. It will only result in conflict, and cast the world once more into a series of bloodbaths such as we see in some parts of the world where religious violence destroys everything.

Geert Wilder's is under a Fatwa (death sentence pronounced on him by Muslims ) and the likelihood of his assassination is strong. This intrepid young man is obviously trying to be a modern-day Charlemagne in film. May God keep him and all those who uphold true peace and tolerance from harm. May peace indeed be in Muslims' hearts and not just on their tongues.

First published April 2 2008
Text of the Holy Injil here
Summary of the Injil here