Far-right Dutch politician vows to show Mohammed cartoons on TV

Far-right politician Geert Wilders plans to broadcast cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed on Dutch television after Parliament refused to show them. He vowed to show the controversial images during TV airtime reserved for political parties in the Netherlands. The broadcast is likely to anger Muslims because Islamic tradition holds that any physical depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous. The country’s political parties get a small amount of airtime each year and broadcasting authorities have no say in what they show.

If we say, ‘it might be offensive, so let’s not do it,’ then we send a signal to the people who wanted to get into the event in Texas … and all their followers that it works.

Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

Mr Wilders, whose Freedom Party holds 12 of the 150 seats in parliament’s lower house, said it would take place in the next few weeks, but no date has been set. His announcement came after the Dutch government refused his request to show an exhibition of cartoons of the Prophet in parliament. The images are from an anti-Islamic event in Garland, Texas, last month, where the Dutch politician gave a speech. Shortly after he left the Mohammed cartoon contest, it was attacked by two men armed with pistols and assault rifles. Security guards shot dead the gunmen.

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