Last Tuesday a very outspoken film maker, columnist and writer and full time reactionary, Theo van Gogh was butchered by a fundamentalist Muslim.
He cycled past Theo van Gogh, shot him, ran after him when he crossed the road. Shot him again, stabbed him numerous times and stuck a note with a knife on his chest. He stood over him until he was dead and ran off. He was caught but only after the police had a shoot out and shot him in the leg. Theo van Gogh was 47. His murderer 26.
All this happened in my friendly, quiet neighbourhood. My daughter's school is opposite his house, a few streets away from our house. One of her friends live right next door and they knew Theo van Gogh personally. The place he was killed is our shopping street. My son cycled past the next day on his way to school and was horrified at the amount of blood that was still on the pavement
It all brings it very close to home. I must keep telling myself that it there are evil people in every religious group, in every race.. It is hard not to give in to the knee jerk reaction to tell them all to get out. It is scary because our basest emotions come up and we think that we are above it. This is an act of terrorism and we consequences will be attached to it. For all of us.
Mosques are already being hit and smeared by paint. Protection for Muslims needs to be stepped up and Muslims in Holland are all apologising for the heinous act of one man. And then I asked myself this: Why? Why do all Muslims need to apologise for one man? Just because he was a Muslim does not put the guilt on the whole of this religious group. I understand the need for it. We all want to hear that not all Muslims are bad but we know this rationally. We do not demand that all Catholics apologise for the IRA, do we? Then why is this different? I find that differentiation very disturbing and it makes me very sad. We will never transcend racism if we do not even see it when it happens. We do not see that Muslims having to defend their religion because of the act of this individual as wrong.
Pim Fortuyn was murdered by a Dutch, white,probably protestant national. No one demands that all of the protestants or animal rights groups or whatever faction he belonged to defend him, do we?
Of course there are Muslims that say that Theo van Gogh provoked this attack because of his outspoken criticism on the Islam in general and the treatment of Muslim women in particular. This testifies to a deep ignorance and I am truly saddened that this is the view of certain individuals, but again that does not mean that this the view of everyone. Unfortunately this will be jumped upon as another example of Muslim "badness".
Theo van Gogh will be cremated at the cemetery opposite which I grew up tomorrow. Chaos is forecasted. I will stay at home and work there...
4 comments:
Van Gogh's murder was because of his attack on Islam by a Muslim defending his religion.
The IRA was not defending Catholicism and Britain was not attacking Catholicism.
Also, having met thousands of extreme Islamists (in my 2 years in Saudi Arabia and visits to other Middle East countries) I can state hand on heart that the smallest percentage of them would mourn Van Gogh's passing. Islam is a religion based on revenge and violence like no other. Saudi Arabia, the strictest Islamic nation in the world, somewhat tellingly, is the only nation to depict a weapon on its flag.
The only thing which shocks me is that Van Gogh presumed his life was not at risk.
I'm not saying there are no good Muslims. I am most definitely saying that Islam is a potentially dangerous religion - more than any other.
Hi Juliet,
How amazing. We're living round the corner from each other.(My home is about five minutes' walk from Linaeusstraat). It's certainly scary, isn't it, that something so grotesque could happen just where we live. Tension seems to be in the air right now. Just hope that things calm down and that these attacks and counter attacks end.
I agree with your view (rather than the one expressed in the comment above). Muslims are people just like anyone else. What people from outside don't realise perhaps is that Van Gogh's killer was a Dutch national, born and brought up here. As for Islam being more dangerous than most religions (comment above), I think we're forgetting several hundred years of bloodletting in the name of Christianity, aren't we?
Anyway, didn't want to get into this. Just wanted to say 'hi, I live round the corner, know what this district feels like at the moment'.
Forgive my tirade in the previous post. You are both absolutely right - there are good and bad people who follows any religion, this is not simply a cliche.
My vitriol, does stem, for some part from my first hand experiences in the Middle East. For this I apologise.
I am not anti-Islam any more than I am anti-Christianity. However, the original verses of the Qu'Ran hint at more violence than any other historical religious text. This is fact, not opinion. Furthermore, Islam is a religion adhered to more fervently than most others. This is also fact.
Once again, sorry for any offense caused.
RukSak. No need to apologise. As I said, I understand the sentiment but I have to point out that Catholicism absolutely is the root cause of the 'troubles' (if ever there was an understatement...) of Northern Ireland. It is also partly nationalism but Catholics hating Protestants (and vice versa) to the point that they are no longer seen as human is very much the reality there. We are in danger of facing the same hatred for a whole religious group when most and I have to stress most, are law abiding, god fearing and upstanding people. I am extremely disturbed by this because I feel we are not learning from past mistakes. JJ is absolutely right. No religion and for that matter no nation has a clear conscious in that regard.
I am glad for the discussion though! I think talking is better than smouldering, hating and in the end acting upon that hatred...
Keep it coming!
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