The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood appears to be preparing its position in advance of any violence that might follow the release of Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ movie on Islam, possibly to be released next month. Wilders is well known in the Netherlands for his positions on cutting off Islamic immigration and his film is expected to stir major protests. The website of the Egyptian Brotherhood has posted the following statement:
Right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders (who is known for his hostility toward Islam and the Qur’an) is said to be broadcasting an anti-Islam movie by next month in Holland. In his own words, wilders will try in his film to convince the public that Islam is a backward religion and the Qur’an a terrible and fascist book that inspires people to do awful deeds. Despite the flagrant violation of freedom of belief in Wilders’ speeches and his movie, Muslim Brotherhood statements called for avoiding riots and violent reactions and concentrating instead on a constructive dialogue with non-Muslims to refute the claims of Geert Wilders or anyone who misunderstands Islam.
As previous posts have noted, various Muslim Brotherhood organizations have played a dual role in past such controversies, one the one hand helping to foment discontent and then stepping into to play the role of mediator.