Katy Greene
February 20th, 2009
2:40 PM
Last week, the UK banned Geert Wilders, a controversial member of the Dutch Parliament. from entering the country. He is about to be the guest of neoconservatives in the United States.
Wilders is planning on making several public appearences in Washington next week to screen his new documentary. The reason Wilders is so controversial is because of his outspoken hatred of Islam. He publicly compared the Koran to Mein Kampf, and calls Islam a "religion of terrorists." Several prominant Republican officials are planning on meeting Wilders on his visit to the United States.
Many conservative politicans have decided to keep their distance from Wilders, because they do not want to be accused of racism or extremism. Although many of them privately agree with his radical views, they do not want to be associated with him publicly.
Wilders is the leader of the Party of Freedom, a right-wing political group. He has recieved many death threats because of his outspoken hatred of Islam. Two conservative British politicans invited him to speak at a meeting of the House of Lords, however the invitation was quickly withdrawn. The British Home Secretary banned him from entering the country because he would threaten public security in the U.K.
I think it is unwise of the United States to invite Geert Wilders to speak and screen his documentary. He preaches an intolerant and hateful message, and is widely known around Europe as a troublemaker and extremist. I think that it would hurt our relations with various European countries if we are shown inviting this man to speak to government officials.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/185216/page/1
No comments:
Post a Comment