Today, September 2nd, is a historic day: it marks the first time that a Muslim cleric has been put on trial for issuing a fatwa for assassination.
In a few weeks it will be 20 years since policemen in bulletproof vests and carrying machine guns came to my house. They had me pack in 10 minutes, forced me into an armored vehicle and took me to an unknown destination. The evening of November 4, 2004 was the last time my wife and I were at home. From that moment on, we were forced to live in different safe houses. We lost our freedom and privacy. Wherever I go, I am always surrounded by bodyguards.
The same thing happened to my colleague, a fellow member of the Dutch parliament, on that ominous night. Ayaan Hirsi AliWe are refugees from Somalia, a Muslim country, and we were both very vocal critics of Islam and the Islamisation of our country, the Netherlands, which resulted in Muslim death threats and fatwas being issued ordering Muslims to kill us.
Since then, Ajaan left Dutch politics and moved to the United States. I stayed in the United States and founded my own party, the Party for Freedom (PVV), which is now the largest party in the Netherlands and the largest party in the ruling coalition.
I have always been a strong advocate for freedom of speech, which is the foundation of a free society and a functioning democracy. I will never be silenced. No fatwa, no death threat, no being on the Taliban and ISIS death lists – nothing will stop me from speaking the inconvenient truth.
However, I am aware that the fatwas and death threats against me (hardly a day goes by without one arriving in my letterbox) are not just intended to silence me, but also to intimidate everyone else from expressing their opinions as “recklessly” as I have.
Fatwas are a direct attack on freedom of speech. Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini was never brought to justice over the fatwa he issued in 1989 that sentenced British author Salman Rushdie to death, but he should have been.
The historic trial will take place next Monday 2 September at the High Court in Amsterdam Schiphol.
Pakistani Mullah and leader of the TLI party translation: and Translator Both men, leaders of Pakistan's TLP party, have been charged and will stand trial in the Netherlands… pic.twitter.com/mkjYCdT12L
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) August 26, 2024
Today the trial of Pakistani nationals Mohammed Ashraf Asif Jalali (55) and Saad Hussain Rizvi (29) begins in Amsterdam. Although the trial is taking place in absentia, it is extremely important – not only for me as a victim, but also for the protection of freedom of speech for all Dutch and free Western citizens.
In May 2015, I entered a cartooning contest in Garland, Texas, where cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad were judged. Islam forbids the depiction of the prophet, but there is no reason why this prohibition should apply to non-Muslims.
Garland's contest was won by former Muslim American illustrator Bosch Faustin with a drawing of Muhammad saying, “You can't paint me!” to which the artist responds, “And that's why I paint you.” Two Islamic extremists attack Police officers attempted to enter the Garland Comics Expo armed with semi-automatic rifles and handguns, but only managed to injure one security guard before being shot dead by police before they could cause any further mayhem.
In 2018, after I invited Faustin to The Hague and announced my intention to hold a similar contest there, Imam Jalali issued a fatwa against me, calling on his followers to kill me and promising to reward me in the afterlife. I had no choice but to cancel the Dutch cartoon contest due to security risks. Some “believers” have taken these fatwas very seriously, as Junaid Iqbal, a 26-year-old Pakistani, said: Arrested In August 2018, he was indicted in The Hague for plotting to “send the dog Wilders to hell.” In February 2021, a court in The Hague indicted him. Sentenced Mr Iqbal is serving a 10-year prison sentence for preparing a terrorist attack against me.
Last September, a court in The Hague also sentenced another Pakistani national, 37-year-old Khalid Latif, former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team, to 12 years in prison for offering a bounty worth $23,500 to kill me. “It is highly likely that someone somewhere in the world will feel compelled to answer this call,” the court said. Latif was not present at the trial and did not respond to the guilty verdict, but will now be unable to travel to countries that have an extradition treaty with the Netherlands.
Dutch populist Geert Wilders to create 'toughest immigration system in history' https://t.co/2hsjri3f3x
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) May 18, 2024
Along with Jalali Imam, Saad Hussain Rizvi is also on trial in Amsterdam today. He is the leader of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party. During a press conference in Karachi in 2018, he also called for my assassination.
The TLP has a history of sponsoring murders outside Pakistan. 14 Pakistani immigrants arrested The group, which has links to the TLP, has called on social networks with around 60,000 followers for the beheading of Salman Rushdie, who is in Madrid. Instead of bringing 14 Pakistanis to court, Spain's socialist government has deported them to Pakistan.
In Pakistan, the TLP leadership Arrested In November 2018, he was charged with sedition and terrorism for inciting violent protests over the acquittal of Pakistani Catholic Assia Bibi. Bibi was sentenced to death on blasphemy charges in 2010 but was ultimately acquitted. In April 2021, the TLP illegal As a terrorist group, however, this decision Reversed November 2021.
“Pakistan's tolerant attitude towards terrorist Islamic clerics, groups and parties not only endangers moderate Muslim and non-Muslim minorities in the country, but also encourages extremist Pakistanis to impose their violent ideology on Western countries. It is brave of the Dutch judiciary and government to stand up to them. More countries should follow the Dutch lead in this regard.”
Geert Wilders is a member of the Dutch parliament and leader of the Party for Freedom, the largest political party in the Netherlands. He is the author of the following books: Deadly Target: Islam's War on the West and Me (Regnery).
