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Wilders pulls no punches in shaking up Dutch politics

Geert Wilders, the far right leader who got worldwide attention after announcing he would make a film denouncing the Koran as a fascist book, is a remarkable presence in Dutch politics.

In a country where consensus and normality are treasured, Wilders' harsh and uncompromising criticism of Islam and bleached blond bouffant hair make him stand out from the crowd.

More importantly, he doesn't care. He vows to keep his decidedly unfashionable hair despite consultants advising a makeover and will not yield to pressure to reconsider his movie plans.

"It's not the aim of the movie but people might be offended, I know that. So what the hell? It's their problem, not my problem," Wilders told FOX news last month.

The leader of the far-right Freedom Party, which holds nine of the Dutch parliament's 150 seats, has announced that he plans to release the 10-minute film next month that will show his view that Islam's holy book, the Koran, "is an inspiration for intolerance, murder and terror."

Media speculate that he could burn or tear up the Koran in the clip. The Hague fears such images could spark violent protests in Muslim countries reminiscent of the 2005 riots when thousands protested cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that appeared in a Danish newspaper.

In the Netherlands and abroad tensions are mounting about the film and its possible content. The Dutch government appealed not only to Wilders to reconsider his plans but also to the country's 5 percent Muslim population to respect the freedom of speech.

A Dutch newspaper which has seen some of the opening images from the film, said it shows the cover of the Koran and then images of "a decapitation in Iraq, a stoning in Iran and an execution in Saudi Arabia, where shariah [Islamic law] is applied."

Wilders is no stranger to controversy and has received numerous death threats. For the last three-and-a-half years he has been living under round-the-clock protection following the murder of outspoken columnist and filmmaker Theo van Gogh.

Van Gogh was killed in November 2004 in Amsterdam by a radical Muslim after he directed a controversial film which examined the subordination of women in Islamic society.

Wilders, 44, started his political career in the right-wing liberal VVD party. From 1998 onwards he was a member of the party's parliamentary group but in September 2004 he left because the VVD was not right-wing enough.

He stayed on as an independent and ahead of the 2006 elections he created his own far-right Freedom party.

The party's position on immigration, calling for an immigration stop for inhabitants of Muslim countries, and vehement opposition to Turkish accession to the EU, netted Wilders nine seats.

Critics call him a classic populist who incites people with "unworkable" plans. For disenchanted voters his party fills a gap for those who see the traditional right-wing parties as too soft.

With his feisty tone in debates and his increasingly harsh comments about Islam, Wilders has kept himself firmly in the spotlight despite his party being only the third-largest opposition party.
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