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Q: If I am right, you have already 6 million hits for your
internet videos. Have there been efforts to silence you
(even physically), or to ban you from the internet, outside
the recent ban on YouTube?
A: Actually, the videos have had more than 20 million hits.
“More demands from Islam” has been seen more than five
million times on
dotSUB alone.
I’ve had hundreds of death threats by e-mail and I’ve
posted some of them on my website
but people who have
recognised me in the street have been very warm and
supportive. Nobody has tried to ban me from the internet.
Q: Who were behind the proposed ban of your videos on
YouTube? Religious organisations in Britain or islamic
regimes in the Middle-East like Iran or Saudi-Arabia?
A: Welcome to
Saudi Britain was removed after a flagging
campaign by Islamic activists, but it backfired because
hundreds of YouTube users uploaded it to their own accounts
in protest and spread it all over the site like a rash.
Then the National Secular Society and Professor Dawkins got
involved and the
press picked up the story, whereupon
YouTube backed down and reinstated it. I have no evidence
that any religious organisations were involved.
YouTube briefly removed another of my videos
Godless and
free but
they e-mailed me to explain that it had been done in error.
Q: You started a petition against sharia-courts in Britain.
What are the results so far? And why did you pick
especially this subject among so many others for a
campaign?
A: I didn’t start the petition; I only signed it and helped
to publicise it. Why this subject? Because sharia justice
deals in crooked measures that are weighted against women
in clear violation of their basic human rights. Isn’t that
a good enough reason? The fact that it’s the thin end of a
theocratic wedge is another reason.
The original petition was restricted to people in Britain,
but now there’s a
global petition that anyone in the world can
sign. Already it has many thousands of signatures, and I
urge everyone who is concerned about the growing
Islamisation of Europe and the free world to add their
name.
Q: Do you have any support among the mass media for this
anti-sharia-campaign? It seems the BBC doesnt allow so much
criticism on religion. Is it still possible to criticize or
make jokes about islam?
A: No, the BBC is utterly spineless. Whenever I’ve worked
for them as a comedian I’ve found it almost impossible to
make jokes about religion or to say anything at all about
Islam. That’s why I started making videos.
Q: Who are to blame for allowing sharia courts? Is it the
Labour government or the churches, or both? Where are the
Liberals and Conservatives in this?
A: It’s Labour’s sop to the imams. The Conservatives have
promised to abolish them (the courts, not the imams,
although some of them should be banned as well).
The Labour Party is the party of multiculturalism in the
UK, though lately they’ve backtracked on some of the
“diversity” rhetoric because it’s beginning to dawn on them
what a disaster it’s been. But they depend heavily on the
Muslim vote, and they’ll do anything to get it, even
sinking so low as to install a buffoon like Nazir Ahmed in
the House of Lords.
Q: Some people will say: what’s against sharia courts if
people go there from their own free choice or religious
convictions?
A: What free choice? Many women will be coerced into using
these courts and everybody knows it. Their basic premise
violates fundamental civilised values, and there is
absolutely no excuse for allowing them.
Would we tolerate a legal code where people of a certain
colour are treated unequally and their word is worth half
that of someone of another colour? Then why the double
standards when it comes to women? Why do we still tacitly
condone the idea that women are inferior? What on earth is
wrong with us?
Q: What went wrong with Labour? How is it possible that
people like Lord Ahmed are in their ranks? Why is a
movement, that in history tried to emancipate the working
people from oppression by the church and the clergy,
nowadays helping the oppression by the mosq and the clergy?
A: The Labour Party was established to emancipate ordinary
people from economic hardship, but nowadays it’s dominated
by a political class, a quasi-aristocracy preoccupied with
imposing their own “enlightened” values on society against
the will of the people and consolidating their own power.
In other words, the same kind of people who run your
country and most of western Europe.
Since this Labour government has been in office we’ve seen
a more rapid erosion of our basic civil liberties than at
any time in our history. So much for emancipation.
Q: Why do you think the christian churches are treating
islam as their ally, while christians are oppressed all
over in the muslim world?
A: The two fascist dogmas have a common enemy in
secularism, which they rightly see as a threat. That’s why
the Archbishop of Canterbury disgraced himself last year by
advocating sharia law in Britain, and it’s why we’re
hearing a lot more about interfaith dialogue between the
two, where they agree to put aside their differences and
focus on things they have in common, like prejudice against
women and homosexuals, hatred of freedom, and a
pathological fear of knowledge. In other words the basics.
Of course this co-operation will only go so far. There will
be no churches allowed in Saudi Arabia, while mosques will
continue to be built all over Europe.
Q: Are you amazed that Britain has banned our MP Geert
Wilders? You banned Al-Qaradawi, so why not Wilders, some
people would say.
A: I’m not in favour of banning anyone. If somebody enters
the country and breaks the law they should be arrested and
tried. If found guilty they should be deported.
The British government caved in to an implied threat of
public disorder, and there’s no honour in pretending
otherwise. Again Home Secretary Jacqui Smith revealed
herself as someone who has been promoted above her ability
and who is completely out of her depth.
Q: Many people in Holland agree with the ban. They say
Fitna is a useless hatemongering movie insulting muslims.
What would you say to people holding this opinion?
A: I’d ask what happened to the Dutch reputation for
tolerance and open-mindedness. Are you only open-minded
about things you agree with? And do you ban everything that
offends anyone, or is it just Muslims who mustn’t be
offended?
There’s more hate expressed in the Koran than in the film,
which simply makes the point that Islamic scripture is used
by terrorists to justify mass murder. That’s a fact and
nobody can deny it. A literal reading of the Koran gives
Muslims permission to kill people, and those who do so have
repeatedly used it as justification. This stuff needs to be
acknowledged and discussed, not banned.
Nobody wants to offend people, but honest free speech is
the oxygen of our society, and I believe that makes it more
important than anybody’s feelings, however delicate.
Q: What is your own opinion on Fitna and on Mr. Wilders
proposal to ban the Koran and his comparison between the
Koran and Hitlers Mein Kampf?
A: I think the film is a rather sensationalist way of
drawing attention to the problem of European Islamisation.
But the problem is real, and if it had been more honestly
acknowledged and more frankly discussed in the first place
there would be no need for a film like this.
As for the Koran, I don’t think any book should be banned.
I didn’t know Hitler’s book was banned in the Netherlands.
I think that’s childish. Nobody’s opinion should be
silenced, even those who would deny the Holocaust. I think
everyone should be free to make a public idiot of
themselves if they want to.
Q: In your video Shame on
Holland you blamed the christian
parties in the Dutch government. Didn’t you forget the
Dutch Labour party, that is part of the coalition
government as well?
A: In that video I actually blamed the multicultural left,
but several Dutch people e-mailed me to say that Christian
politicians are also an important part of the problem, so I
made that point in the subsequent video Freedom go to
hell
Q: Some people will say that Wilders, or Ayaan Hirsi Ali,
or the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, or our
cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot (did you hear about his
arrest?), or you own person suffer from islamophobia. What
about that? Do you think islam is now more dangerous for
our freedom than other religions?
A: Nobody should worry about being called Islamophobic.
Islamophobia is not a real word. It’s a crude attempt by
multiculturalists and Islamists to play on people’s liberal
guilt and demonise their legitimate concerns about the
direction our society is going.
If you dislike something bad it doesn’t mean you have a
phobia. It means you dislike something bad, and you’re
probably wise to do so.
We keep hearing that Islam is falsely portrayed in a bad
light, but the evidence shows that it’s falsely portrayed
in a good light by people who should know better.
Also, Islam is more than just a religion. In the guise of
Islamism it’s an aggressive political movement, and for
this reason it is a bigger threat to our freedom than other
religions.
Q: In your videos you seem very worried about the erosion
of words like ‘tolerance’, and ‘human rights’ or
‘emancipation’? Can you explain a bit why?
A: Tolerance is rightly seen as a virtue, but in practice
it has come to mean intolerance of anything that doesn’t
conform to multicultural dogma.
The term “human rights” was redefined recently by the UN
Human Rights Council after it was hijacked by a cartel of
Islamic dictatorships. Now it means immunity from criticism
for Islam. Also, they want western governments to make it
illegal to criticise religion, and some seem very eager to
do their bidding, including the Dutch government, as we’ve
seen with the prosecution of Mr Wilders.
However, there are signs that things are starting to turn.
The Norwegian government tried to introduce such a law last
month, but they were forced to back down in the face of
outraged public opinion. Bravo Norway. Maybe Europe does
have a spine after all.
Q: Some people are very pessimistic and think Europe is
already surrendering to Islam. Or are you more optimistic,
hoping that our continent will come to its senses and
recover and fight for its values?
A: I’m optimistic, but it won’t happen by itself. Firstly,
we still have a vote. (I haven’t checked recently, so I may
be wrong about that.) If we vote again for the people who
created this situation we deserve everything we get.
Secondly, we can only defend freedom of speech if we use
it. It’s no good as a theory. A silent majority is not a
majority at all if it remains silent; it might as well not
exist.
If we keep backing away from Islam, if we keep retreating
into silence to keep the peace in the face of unreasonable
demands, we’re in real danger of bequeathing our children
the kind of world that we wouldn’t want to be born into; a
world where ideas are banned and where feelings and dogma
are more important than truth; where women have fewer
rights, and where homosexuals and Jews have more to fear.
Those of us who care about this prospect need to examine
our consciences and make a decision to start speaking out
before it’s too late, because once it is too late, it will
be too late forever.
Supplementary question 1
What do you think about the recent gains of the BNP
(British National Party) in by-elections and in the polls?
A: I believe the BNP is a racist party, and therefore I
don't support them. They're getting more support now
because the mainstream parties have consistently ignored
people's legitimate concerns about multiculturalism, and
many people feel they've been left with no choice but to
vote for them. If politicians listened to what people
actually want, the BNP would be nothing.
Supplementary question 2
In the last opinion poll the PVV (Freedom Party) of Mr.
Wilders scored as the biggest party, with 27 virtual seats.
What is your explanation of the popularity of the PVV? What
should the other political parties do about it?
A: It’s good news, but not entirely surprising. People
aren’t stupid. They can see what’s going on, and they’re
beginning to realise that if things don’t change radically
and quickly then western culture and its values are in big
trouble.
The other parties should take off their multicultural
spectacles and read the mood of the country. Maybe some of
the politicians in those parties will now start saying what
they really think, and not what they think they’re supposed
to think.