It is always refreshing to hear Geert Wilders restate the obvious in a world gone Islamic. Turkey is an interesting case history, as they experimented with "secular" Islam. They tried to separate politics from Islam, and it appears to be failing miserably. It tells you a lot about the impossibility of the separation of mosque and state in Islam (like a body with no bones).
A planned visit to Turkey by Dutch members of parliament is up in the air after the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the delegation would not be welcome if it included Geert Wilders, the controversial leader of the populist Dutch party Party for Freedom (PVV). Wilders, known for his anti-Islam film "Fitna" and for comparing the Koran to Hitler's "Mein Kampf," strongly opposes Turkey's accession to the European Union.(Spiegel)
“If this is the point of view of the Turkish government – Turkey, I should say – the Turkish government has no respect for freedom of speech or democracy, and is [itself] a totalitarian government,” he said.
Far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, a vocal critic of Islam who was declared “unwelcome” by Turkey, said the reaction of the government to his scheduled visit was “stupid.”
“I think it is a very stupid reaction because I am not a racist, I am not a fascist. I am a democratically elected politician representing now one of the most popular parties in Holland,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in a telephone interview Thursday.
Wilders, who leads the Party for Freedom, has plans to join a group of lawmakers from the European Affairs Committee of the Dutch parliament set to visit Turkey on Jan. 4.
Turkey said the Dutch politician is unwelcome. “We reject the views of the person in question. We consider them racist and unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Özügergin said this week.
“I only use democratic means, I am sorry; I have nothing to do with racism or fascism. I despise everything that has to do with these kinds of ideologies,” Wilders told the Daily News.
“If this is the point of view of the Turkish government – Turkey, I should say – the Turkish government has no respect for freedom of speech or democracy, and is [itself] a totalitarian government,” he said.
After Turkey’s harsh reaction to Wilder’s prospective visit, which is said to overshadow Turkish-Dutch relations because of the media attention expected to focus on the controversial politician, the Dutch committee is expected to review its plans.
“If the Turkish government will keep its opinion that I am not welcome, I don’t know. I still hope they allow me to enter and also make sure that I will be safe,” said Wilders.
He argued that his problem is with Islamic ideology.
UPDATE: So progressive! Modern, moderate, secular Turkey: 42% of women targets of violence
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