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Council of Europe Criticizes Anti-Islamic Video by Dutch Director

Society Materials 29 March 2008 11:43 (UTC +04:00)
Council of  Europe Criticizes Anti-Islamic Video by Dutch Director

Azerbaijan, Baku, 29 March / corr. Trend K. Ramazanova/ The film by the Dutch politician Geert Wilders is a distasteful manipulation which exploits ignorance, prejudice and fears, said the statement by Terry Davis, Secretary General and Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

"It is simply political propaganda and it plays into the hands of extremists who are given such a prominent role in his film. The film will upset the great majority of people of Islamic faith in Europe who reject violence and accept our common values," the statement said.

The Dutch MP and the author of the film Fitna Wilders posted a scandalous film about Koran on the internet which caused the protest of the Muslim community in Europe.

The film, made by Dutch opposition lawmaker Geert Wilders, draws links between terrorist acts by Muslim extremists and the words of the Koran. The film shows the pictures about the acts of terrorism in New York that were committed on 11 September 2001 and about the murder of Dutch film-maker Teo Van Gog by the Muslim devout in 2004.

As the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, which is the guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights, we defend freedom of expression, but in this case we do so with disappointment and concern. It is a sad day for European democracy when the most fundamental principles on which it has been built are used to promulgate intolerant and deeply offensive stereotypes, the statement said.

The vast majority of people in Europe, in all communities and of all faiths or no faith, believe in dialogue, mutual respect and European values. We call on all our fellow Europeans to join us in rejecting this offensive and distorted image of Islam, the statement said.

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