Film on Islam’s Quran touches off protests

The Hague, Netherlands - Protesters have torched Dutch flags in Afghanistan ahead of a new Dutch film portraying Islam’s holy book, the Quran, as a “fascist” text that incites violence and preaches the oppression of women and homosexuals.

A Dutch Cabinet minister postponed his trip to Somalia on Friday because of “specific threats” linked to the film, and the Dutch government has urged lawmaker Geert Wilders to scrap his film for the safety of its citizens abroad.

However, Wilders said Monday that he has begun negotiations with Dutch broadcasters about airing the 15-minute film, “Fitna,” which is Arabic for discord.

He said he will allow them to show it only in its entirety, and if they refuse, he will show it to the media and post it on the Internet.

Wilders has lived under round-the-clock security since the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic radical enraged by his short film, “Submission,” a fictional study of abused Muslim women.