Islam is the New Spectre Hanging Over Europe

Go, Wilders, go! The trial has been halted after the presiding judge made a prejudicial remark. This is magnificent.

Is a "fair" trial even remotely possible?

For the most reliable updates, go to Wilders on Trial. Previous Atlas coverage of Wilders' ongoing heresy trial (for insulting Islam) -- go here.

Back in early February, the Dutch court adjourned Wilders' trial for nine months to give the three witnesses testifying for Wilders' time to schedule their testimony (Wafa Sultan was one of the witnesses -- her historical testimony is here).

If you missed Wilders' opening remarks back in January in his free speech trial, go here.

"Freedom is the most precious of all our attainments and the most vulnerable. People have devoted their lives to it and given their lives for it. Our freedom in this country is the outcome of centuries. It is the consequence of a history that knows no equal and has brought us to where we are now.

I believe with all my heart and soul that the freedom in the Netherlands is threatened. That what our heritage is, what generations could only dream about, that this freedom is no longer a given, no longer self-evident.

I devote my life to the defence of our freedom. I know what the risks are and I pay a price for it every day. I do not complain about it; it is my own decision. I see that as my duty and it is why I am standing here.


I know that the words I use are sometimes harsh, but they are never rash. It is not my intention to spare the ideology of conquest and destruction, but I am not any more out to offend people. I have nothing against Muslims. I have a problem with Islam and the Islamization of our country because Islam is at odds with freedom.

Future generations will wonder to themselves how we in 2010, in this place, in this room, earned our most precious attainment. Whether there is freedom in this debate for both parties and thus also for the critics of Islam, or that only one side of the discussion may be heard in the Netherlands? Whether freedom of speech in the Netherlands applies to everyone or only to a few? The answer to this is at once the answer to the question whether freedom still has a home in this country.

Freedom was never the property of a small group, but was always the heritage of us all. We are all blessed by it.

Lady Justice wears a blindfold, but she has splendid hearing. I hope that she hears the following sentences, loud and clear:

It is not only a right, but also the duty of free people to speak against every ideology that threatens freedom. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States was right: The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

I hope that the freedom of speech shall triumph in this trial."

Geert Wilders is our proxy. We are on trial. The Organization of Islamic Conference means to shut us all up. That's what they were doing in Chicago last week. Wilders is us.

Geert Wilders trial halted as lawyer accuses judge of bias (the notoriously leftist and morally bankrupt Guardian)

The opening of the trial, expected to last a month in Amsterdam, followed a successful weekend for the maverick Dutch politician, with his influence over a new rightwing government confirmed and a campaign speech in Germany aimed at establishing a trans-national European movement against Muslim immigration.

Wilders entered the dock amid heavy security and promptly affirmed his commitment to free speech, dismissing the charges against him while not entering a plea.

He faces a hefty fine or a year in jail if found guilty on five charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims and insulting their religion for likening, as he routinely does, the Qur'an to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and describing Islam as fascist.

"I am on trial, but on trial with me is the freedom of expression of many Dutch citizens," he told the Amsterdam district court. "I can assure you, I will continue proclaiming it."

Wilders then asserted his right to remain silent for the rest of the trial, prompting a comment from the presiding judge, Jan Moors, which was challenged by Wilders's lawyer.

Moors said Wilders was known for making bold statements but avoiding discussions, adding: "It appears you're doing so again."

Bram Moszkowicz, representing Wilders, said the comment gave the appearance that Moors was biased and moved to have him substituted.

The hearing was suspended while other judges consider the complaint. They are to rule tomorrow on Wilders's challenge, meaning that a new panel of three judges could be appointed, delaying the trial by several months.

"I thought I had a right to a fair trial, including the right to remain silent," said Wilders. "It is scandalous that the judge passes comment on that. A fair trial is not possible with judges like that."

At the weekend, rather than comparing Islam to fascism, Wilders argued that Islam was the new communism, paraphrasing Karl Marx to declare that Islam is now the spectre haunting Europe.

[...] "I am standing trial … because of my opinions on Islam … and because the Dutch establishment – most of them non-Muslims – wants to silence me. I have been dragged to court because in my country freedom can no longer be fully enjoyed.

"In Europe the national state, and increasingly the EU, prescribes how citizens – including democratically elected politicians such as myself – should think and what we are allowed to say."

If you didn't see Wilders speak at our 911 Rally of Remembrance to Stop the Ground Zero mosque, go here.