Theodoor "Theo" van Gogh (23 July 1957 – 2 November 2004) was a Dutch film director, film producer, columnist, author and actor. He was the great-grandson of Theo van Gogh, who was the brother of artist Vincent van Gogh.
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Van Gogh worked with writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali to produce the film Submission, which analyzed the treatment of women in Islam. Some claimed the film was critical of Islam. On 2 November 2004 he was assassinated by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch-Moroccan Muslim. The last film he completed before his death, 06/05, is a fictional version of the assassination of politician Pim Fortuyn.
Theo was an out-spoken and prominent Dutch film director, author, journalist, actor, producer and an advocate of free speech who used the media as an open forum to broadcast his controversial views on religion, politics and social mores and values. The candid and often provocative method he used to express his ideologies quickly propelled him into the national spotlight in the Netherlands.
However, his critical views and brusque approach also made him unpopular among a lot of people. According to a November 2, 2004 article in Expatica.com, businessman and broadcaster Harry Mens described Theo as "a bit of a 'kamikaze,' who expressed his views regardless of whom he might offend." And offend he did. He harshly criticized Christianity and Judaism. However, the Muslim community bore the brunt of his irritation, which was evident when he likened Dutch Muslim immigrants to "goat f--kers."
Anger against Van Gogh reached its pinnacle on August 29, 2004 with the airing of the television film Submission on Dutch television, which was the creation of Van Gogh and controversial Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The film depicted four partially nude women in long, dark transparent veils, who had texts from the Koran written in calligraphy on their bare skin. Some of the women appeared to have reddened whip marks on their backs and legs, on which the texts were written that described the physical punishments, sanctioned by the Koran for disobedient women. Not surprisingly, the highly controversial 10-minute film sparked outrage from the Muslim community.
Not long after the release of Submission, Theo began to receive death threats. Concerned for his welfare, his colleagues urged him to hire a bodyguard for protection a suggestion which Theo initially entertained. Yet, eventually he brushed it off because he didn't believe anyone would want to target him.
At approximately 8:45 a.m. on November 2, 2004, an unknown assailant dressed in a traditional Moroccan "djelleba," brutally attacked Theo outside of a city council building as he bicycled to work in central Amsterdam. The attacker shot Theo Van Gogh and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest, callously disregarding his victim's pleas for mercy. Despite his life-threatening injuries, Theo was able to gain enough momentum to stumble to the other side of the street but by the time he made his way across, his attacker shot and stabbed him again. He then slit Theo's throat with a butcher knife as onlookers gasped in sheer horror.
In a final assault against his victim the attacker lodged his knife, which had a letter attached to it, into Theo's chest. The assassin then ran off through the neighborhood and into the nearby Oosterpark, where he and police exchanged gunfire. During the shootout, a motorcycle police officer and an eyewitness were seriously wounded.
Just as Theo's murderer exited the other side of the park, the police caught up with him and shot him in the leg. He was immediately arrested and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his wounds. The attacker was eventually identified as 26-year-old Mohammed Bouyeri, an Islamic extremist with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationalities who was believed to have links with other Islamic militant groups. Investigators revealed that Bouyeri's motivation to kill was likely sparked by the movie
Submission and further aggravated by his hate of the western world and those who refused to accept Islamic values.
At the time of Bouyeri's arrest, he was found carrying an alleged suicide note, indicating that he probably expected to be martyred for his crime. The poem, titled "Baptized in Blood" reads as follows (Translation by N. Szalata, the Netherlands):
Baptized in BloodThis is then my last word...
Penetrated by bullets...
Baptized in blood
As I had hoped for
I leave a message
For you...the fighter...
The tree of Tawheed awaits you...
Yearning for your blood...
Accept the deal...
And Allah will not stand in your way...
He will give you the Garden
In place of the earthly ruin.
I also have a word to the enemy...
You will certainly come off badly...
Even if you go all over the world on Tour...
Death will be on the look out...
The Knights of Death are hard on your heels...
Who will color the streets Red.
To the hypocrites, I say this in conclusion...
Wish for death or else keep your mouth shut and...sit.
Dear brothers and sisters, I am near my end
But by this, the story is certainly far from over.
Bouyeri also left a 5-page letter on Theo's body, which threatened Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali and also mentioning several other Dutch political figures, including the Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen and Liberal parliamentary speaker Jozias van Artsen. Expatica.com reported in a November 5, 2004 article that "the letter accused the Somali-born MP (Ayaan Hirsi Ali) of not only turning her back on the truth but also aligning herself with the forces of evil, which the letter indicated to be "her Jewish masters" and the government. The letter further threatened that she, along with the United States, Europe, The Netherlands and other "non-believers of Islam were "going to meet with disaster."
According to Expatica.com, experts who examined the letter claim that its "style indicated that it originates from an extremist Islamic group with links to terror network al-Qaeda." However, Bouyeri's association to the infamous terror organization has not, as of yet, been officially confirmed. Since his capture, Bouyeri refuses to reveal information concerning the murder and his relationship with other Islamic fundamentalists.
Police have conducted a search of Bouyeri's Amsterdam apartment, confiscating his computers, videos and radical Islamic literature. Approximately four other houses were searched in connection to the murder. Police investigators have also arrested eight suspects believed to be linked to the Hofstad Network and involved in the murder plot. The alleged leader of the group, Redouan al-Issar, has since fled capture and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Two of the detained suspects were released several days after Theo's murder due to lack of evidence. The other six suspects, all of whom are Islamic radicals of North African descent and aged between 19 and 27 years old, remained in custody, Anthony Deutsch reported in a November 6, 2004 AP article. Expatica.com wrote in November 4, 2004 that the Dutch intelligence service, AIVD, claimed that, "the suspects were in contact with the brain behind the 16 May 2003 Casablanca attacks," alleged to be Islamic extremist Abdeladim Akoudad.
The six suspects will be charged with conspiring to commit murder. Bouyeri faces up to six charges, including taking part in a "criminal organization with terrorist characteristics," AP Worldstream reported. He will be prosecuted under the European Union's new terrorist laws. It is unclear when the trial will be scheduled yet it is expected to take place as early as spring/summer 2005.
The murder of Theo Van Gogh sparked a firestorm of outrage among citizens throughout the Netherlands. On the night of the brutal killing approximately 20,000 people gathered in central Amsterdam's Dam Square to pay tribute to Theo and show support for freedom of speech by making noise for seven minutes. According to Expatica.com, the public came equipped with "horns, drums, pots and pans and anything that could generate a 'racket,'" which they used to express their anger at the tragedy. The seven minutes of noise was followed by a two-minute vigil of silence. The massive turn out at the rally was evidence that the Dutch were not going to accept being bullied into keeping silent or accept the murder of those who speak their mind.
The Netherlands, which prides itself for its "tolerance" has experienced in the last several years a radical change in its political climate concerning immigration policies and views on Islam. This change was most evident with the victory of maverick right-winger Pim Fortuyn, 54, who won an amazing 17 of the 45 seats in the 2002 Rotterdam district council election. In fact, his newly formed party Lijst Pim Fortuyn was so ahead in the polls that Pim, a sociology professor, was slated to win at least 20 of the 150 seats in parliament during the 2002 May elections, which would have likely propelled him into the position of Prime Minister. What made Pim's ascent in the political world so surprising was that he was unashamedly anti-immigration and considered Islam to be a "backwards culture."
However, Pim did not hold the pulpit long. On May 6, 2002, Dutch animal-rights activist Volkert van der Graaf shot and killed Pim outside of a Dutch radio station because he allegedly disagreed with his controversial stance on immigration. Pim's death would mark the first political assassination in the Netherlands since 1672, when Dutch politician Johan de Witt was slain by a mob.
On November 10, 2004, residents of a neighborhood in The Hague were abruptly awakened by a series of explosions in the early morning hours. Not long afterwards, members of the marine's Special Forces units cordoned off the area around Antheunisstraat. It was later revealed that the explosions came from hand grenades, which were detonated during an anti-terror raid on a house where armed Islamic militants were suspected to be hiding. According to Expatica.com, the raid was conducted as part of the investigation into Theo Van Gogh's murder. The explosion seriously injured four officers but luckily caused no deaths. The raid eventually turned into a standoff that lasted most of the day as police tried to find a way to evict the alleged "terrorists" from a building with minimal harm to officers and area residents.
In response, a "no-fly zone was introduced over the city, banning airplanes from flying lower than 700m above the ground" and police snipers had taken position on rooftops in the neighborhood," Expatica.com reported on November 10th. Moreover, ambulances, police squad cars and fire trucks crowded the streets to prevent people from entering the sealed off area. Residents were evacuated from the district and those who were deemed suspicious or knew information as to the identity of the suspects were held in police custody for questioning.
Finally at around 4 p.m., the police used tear gas to flush the suspects out of the house, which put an end to the nearly 14-hour siege. Sterling said in a November 14th Associated Press article that approximately 13 Muslims, believed to have been associated with the Hofstad Network were arrested on terrorism charges. It is believed that the suspects, who include two young men with dual Dutch-American citizenship, are linked to other terror organizations including al-Qaeda.
One of those captured in The Hague siege was known to have connections with suspected terrorist Abdeladim Akoudad, who was arrested in Spain in 2003 for his alleged involvement in the al-Qaeda-funded suicide attacks in Casablanca earlier that year which killed 33 people. The suspect would be the second individual arrested in regard to Theo's murder that had known links to Akoudad. The first person to be connected with Akoudad was a suspect of Spanish-Moroccan descent, who was detained in the beginning of November, 2004. Spanish and Dutch officials are working together to establish if the men, who were affiliated with the Hofstad Network, were associated in any way to the terrorists that carried out the Madrid train bombings, some of who were believed to have been members of al-Qaeda.
To the surprise of many, the unfolding investigation revealed that the Netherlands appears to be a hot bed for terrorist activities. According to an Expatica.com article by Lesley Thomas, the Dutch security and intelligence service AIVD estimated that approximately "100 people in Holland have links to Islamic terror groups..." Sterling stated that the Dutch government has "been shadowing as many as 200 potential terrorists since the Sept. 11 attacks." In actuality, the numbers are likely far greater. What is for certain is that the number of people being inducted into extremists groups in the Netherlands is growing at an unprecedented rate, which leaves many wondering not if but when there will be another attack on their soil.
Now here's where it starts getting interesting.The the Dutch security and intelligence service AIVD were monitoring Mohommad Bouyeri and the Hofstad Network, yet they didn't do anything to prevent the murder on Theo van Gogh. On November 2nd 2005, the Dutch channel BNN broadcasted a documentary called "Prettig weekend, ondanks alles" ( Have a great weekend, despite all). The most important message of the documentary was that the murder could have been prevented.
Even before the documentary was broadcasted it scored publicity with the news that almost all the AIVD Hofstad members had contacted by the AIVD to work for them. The intelligence and security was deeply infiltrated in the Hofstad Network. The Dutch newspaper Parool published the following:
AMSTERDAM: Almost all members of the Hofstad group were asked by the AIVD security service asked to work for them. This is said the ex-lawyer of suspect Zakaria T. Hofstad, Jan Vlug, in the documentary "Have a great weekend, despite all", tonight at BNN.
Both T. as well as Jason W. would have been approached have been approached by the AIVD after a trip to Pakistan. According to Vlug both refused the offer. In the documentary it's questioned whether Mohammed B., the murderer of Theo van Gogh, was working for the AIVD. According to Vlug, it "would explain a lot" if B. was an informant. "They were monitoring everyone but Mohammed B."
The AIVD has indicated that questions about a possible informantenrol of the murderer of Van Gogh are confidential. Vlug: "When I wasrunning the AIVD, I would say:" Mohammed B. an informant? Are you nuts? "Well, if it was not true. If it were true, I should also rely on confidentiality. "
The documentary was made by Katja Schuurman and several journalists for Column Productions, the company of Van Gogh and Gijs van de Westelaken. "What was originally intended as a personal document of Katja about Theo, turned out to a tough documentary," said Van de Westelaken.
Robert Maanicus, the lawyer of Jason W., says not to know if W. is approached. But was it the home of his client in the Antheunisstraat which was full of monitoring equipment and was according to the makers of a documentary an 'AIVD-house', a house rented to suspects by the AIVD, without the suspect's knowledge.
To investigate the murder of Van Gogh the DA requested the tap reports of the intercepted conversations of the Antheunisstraat. The AIVD first only wanted to hand over the tapes from November 3rd. First, the department claimed that the rest was cleared, it was called later that they could not be made available because the of the high risk of their resources to become known. The authors propose: "The source had to be protected before November 3 - after that date it was considered no longer needed. This could only mean the source was Mohammed B. 'A few weeks after the documentary was broadcasted Gijs van de Westelaken asked Stan de Jong write a book that would contain the entire investigation file. He had already found a publisher. What were the main points of the book, a result of all the research?
- There were numerous signs that Theo van Gogh was seriously threatened. At least two times these threats were sufficiently concrete and traceable that at least there should have been considered a form of personal security set. This twas omitted, so the authorities are to be blamed.
- The local government is not sufficiently equipped to protect civilians in danger. The experience in Column ( "Have a nice weekend, after all) speak volumes, but the clumsy events surrounding the screening of Submission (" We lost 'm ") does not convey any degree of confidence in the capabilities of the local Hermandad.
- Mohammed B., was a key figure in the Hofstad Network. The evidence is overwhelming. The allegations of the ministers Remkes and Donner that B. was "No major player" nor a "key figure, but was only " near " the network, are inconsistent with the facts that even then were already known and it also contradicts the conclusion of the prosecution. This is mildly surprising.
- Because it is so obvious that a B played a main role, the AIVD can not have missed it. The AIVD is less incompetent than is often assumed. In any event, the intelligence and security was on top the Hofstad group. After the murder the entire network was rolled in almost no time. Mohammed B. was himself long been monitored by the department. The AIVD and - in committee - Donner and Remkes are not very credible when they say there is no evidence that was a risk. Apart from his criminal history. The apparent genuflection Deputy AIVD director Theo Bot - he spoke of an "estimation error" - not convincing in that respect.
- Also in the Amsterdam 'triangle' is almost has to be more information about the perpetrator - and in general on terrorism suspects in the capital - than they have been made available so far. Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen said, to the chagrin of The Hague, has always complained that he was kept in ignorance everywhere. He also hurried an investigation after the murder. After several days feverishly consultations 'Amsterdam' and 'Den Haag' the case was apparently appeased. But the mere fact that Mohammed B. three weeks before the murder - the "tram incident" - was presented to the Regional Intelligence Department (RID) shows that B. in any case was known by the police as a possible terrorist.
- During the press conference on the day of the murder "the triangle" made announcements which later appeared to be wrong and nonsensical. No, the suspect was not known to the RID-Amstelland Amsterdam, and no, he was, apart from "a relatively minor incident", not known to the local police and judicial records. That the DA denied these statements calls into question. And then there is the remarkable events surrounding the raids in the house in the Marianne Philips Street.
- If the AIVD was aware of the fact that B. was a key figure, there must be another reason that he, unlike other Hofstad group members, was never arrested. Intelligence and security services are not aimed at maintaining research subjects. That is simply not in their interest. They must gather information. Preferably as long as possible. They make use of informants and infiltrators. This method is worldwide, including the Netherlands, operational practices, we know. But the modus operandi brings risks with it - and that is demonstrated in the past. It is therefore plausible that B. conscious "is kept in the field" just because he was pivotal in the group. Arresting him would keep view of the rest of the Hofstad Network: Mohammed B. was bait.
- The research also demonstrated that not only around the Hofstad group was hastily recruited, but also within the group itself. Almost all members are asked to work for the AIVD. Two lawyers have confirmed this. From other sources (note) it shows how deep the AIVD was infiltrated in the group. That a car and a house was offered to a member of the Hofstad group, indicates the importance of the inside information to the AIVD. This question is justified: Was Mohammed B. once approached by the AIVD? There are two possibilities: Mohammed Bouyeri was, like others, asked for the secret service work, or Bouyeri was the only one who was not approached. The latter can only be explained by the fact that the AIVD was committed to complying with information about him to win. He was their main target, the spider in the web. That proves that the claim that Bouyer was not a key figure is a lie. It either one or the other. "
- Did Mohammed B. after all fall for the favors of the AIVD? We can only guess, but according to the now former lawyer Zakaria T. it would explain a lot. In any case, why he was always kept out of trouble. Certainly Bouyeri, a exBVD'er told us before he radicalized would have been "an ideal informant". There are certain striking expressions of the killer to the authorities ( "You play a game."). And why was the house of B. raided in 2003, who, according to one witness, was arguing and fighting, while B. was not arrested then?
Member of Parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali (VVD) remains hard for a parliamentary inquiry into the affairs concerning the murder of Theo van Gogh. "There are so many questions and statements still not answered by the Cabinet and by the directors of Amsterdam. Such a survey can only now going after the trial of members of the Hofstad group. The Liberal MP said at the presentation of a new book about the murder "a good weekend, despite everything" by journalist Stan de Jong. His argument is that the murder could have been prevented. The book is an elaboration of the documentary by Katja Schuurman, which previously aired on television.
And then there was silence. The review promised by the government into the circumstances surrounding the murder did not took place. Sorry: the case was still "sub judice". This was the first case provided against Mohammed Bouyeri, the later trial of the Hofstad group and even then it was finished, they threw it on the appeal that some members had brought Hofstad.
Nearly two years after the murder on October 17, 2006 in Nieuwe Revu Stan de Jong could say that the Labor Party really quickly demanded an investigation. The message was picked up by RTL. Yet nobody expected the motion would be adopted PvdA Bert Koenders. The government parties CDA and VVD were straight and the always fighting for openness D66 wanted to wait until all legal matters were settled. It's due to former president of the VVD, Josias van Aartsen, the VVD agreed and the motion was passed unexpectedly.
In an article in Revue (November 2006) Stan de Jong recuperated everything that had gone wrong at the national and local services, which he mainly focused on the role of the Amsterdam 'triangle': prosecutor Leo de Wit, chief of Police Bernard Welten and Mayor Job Cohen. It must be almost more than we have known Mohammed Bouyeri arose, he decided.
Soon after Mohammed Bouyeri's arrest, MP's Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders went into hiding, hoping to avoid a fate similar to Van Gogh. According to the death list found on Van Gogh's remains, they were next in line to be killed, followed by the names of other prominent Dutch citizens who openly criticized Islam. Even though Bouyeri and other members of the Hofstad Network terror cell had been arrested, the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD suspected that there were other group members still at large who could carry out the ritualistic slaughters of those on the list.
Consequently, Ali found temporary refuge at an American Marine base in Maine, where she remained under tight security for 75 days before returning to work in the Netherlands. When not at work, she spent most of her time shuffling between various safe places, including military bases and hotels, Marlise Simons reported in the New York Times. Wilders, like others on the list remained in the Netherlands under heavy guard but unlike the rest, he spent his evenings "deprived of friends and family" at the high security prison Camp Zeist.
The security measures may have seemed drastic but in this case it was clearly a matter of life and death. New information found at the workplace of an alleged terror suspect identified as Jermaine Walters, 17, revealed a plot to murder Ali during New Year's 2005 celebrations. Jermaine was a roommate of Bouyeri and the brother of another Hofstad member, Jason Walters, who was arrested during the terror siege in The Hague after having allegedly thrown a hand grenade at a police officer, Expatica.com reported in a January 2005 article. Jermaine allegedly learned of Ali's whereabouts on the night in question from a 34-year-old Dutchman Othman Ben Amar. Surprisingly, Ben Amar worked for AIVD as an editor and interpreter for their Islamic Terrorism Centre, and allegedly leaked state secrets to Jermaine, as well as other Islamic extremists over the period of a year, Expatica.com said. Needless to say, both men were promptly arrested and are currently awaiting trial.
July 11, 2005, the first day of Bouyeri's trial, the Financial Times pointed out that the Theo van Gogh case is seen as a test of anti-terrorism laws being introduced across Europe. "Bouyeri is the first person to be prosecuted in the Netherlands since new anti-terrorism laws were introduced as a response to the failure of earlier attempts to convict radical Islamists as terrorists."
"Since the September, 11 2001 attacks on the US, the Dutch authorities have been given the power to arrest people on suspicion of intent to commit a terrorist act and to charge suspects for conspiracy or belonging to a group with terrorist intentions. Courts can also consider previously inadmissible evidence gathered by intelligence agencies from anonymous sources."
Mohammed Bouyeri's trial for the murder of Theo Van Gogh began Monday, July 11, 2005. For the most part, Bouyeri remained silent and told his lawyer, Peter Plasman, that he wanted no part in the case. He turned his back to the judges because he does not recognize the court's authority.
On July 26, 2005, a three judge panel in an Amsterdam court found Mohammed Bouyeri guilty and sentenced him to life in prison for the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh. He was also found guilty of the attempted murder of several police officers and two civilians wounded in the shootout and the illegal possession of firearms. Furthermore, Bouyeri was found guilty of encumbering MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali's work in the Dutch parliament because of threats made to her life, which led to her temporary absence from work and seclusion from the public for security reasons.
During sentencing presiding judge Udo Willem Bentinck said: "The terrorist attack on Theo van Gogh has unleashed feelings of great fear and insecurity in society" and that "there is only one fitting punishment in this case and that is a life sentence," Philippe Naughton reported in the Times Online. The sentence was the most severe possible under Dutch law for premeditated murder. The remorseless Bouyeri showed no emotion as the verdict was read, although there was relief expressed by some of Van Gogh's family and relatives.
According to BBC News, Bouyeri must face new charges of being a member of an Islamist terror network. Dutch prosecutors say Bouyeri is "a key member of the Hofstad group which was planning attacks against Dutch politicians." He would now be tried along with other alleged Hofstad members. Twelve other cases of suspected members of the Hofstad Network are currently being reviewed and are expected to go to trial in the near future. "Though they were not accused of having links to Van Gogh's murder, prosecutors say they were plotting other terrorist attacks," BBC reported.
In the meantime, a "large majority of Dutch parliament" is trying to make sure that while in jail, Bouyeri is kept in isolation in order to prevent him from becoming a 'prison prophet,' by recruiting other prisoners as jihad fighters," Expatica.com said. During his imprisonment while awaiting trial, evidence including radical Islamic texts came to light, which Bouyeri allegedly used to try and indoctrinate two other prisoners. Contact with prison inmates has since been significantly reduced. Moreover, he has been prohibited from using the Internet or his mobile (cell) phone while incarcerated.
However, it is unclear whether such restrictions will be enforced throughout the duration of his sentence. The NIS (Netherlands Information Services) reported that convicted criminals have the right to "write, publish and distribute articles" but if the "texts infringe criminal law, for example when they incite hatred or sedition, the author can be prosecuted." Yet, there is a chance that Bouyeri's indoctrination of the two prisoners might not be taken into account since they occurred prior to sentencing. Thus, he could start his prison sentence off with a 'clean slate" free again to spread messages inciting hate until he is caught. Even if he is caught the NIS said that "no further sentence can be imposed on him for any future criminal offence" according to Dutch law. Consequently, steps are being taken to change current laws in an effort to prevent Islamic extremists from recruiting while in prison. This is especially important now that it has come to light that one of the 7/21 bombers in London embraced a violent Islamic creed while in jail serving a 5-year sentence for mugging.
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Okay...that's the story... But if there was a conspiracy to kill Theo van Gogh, there must be a reason for it, right? Theo was a controversial person, he said what he thought out right, and although his comments could be quite painful to certain people, he had every right to do that. It's called Freedom of Speech, and it's the most important right of every Dutch citizen.
Van Gogh rejected every form of religion, and in the late 1990s he started to focus on Islam. He felt strongly that political Islam is an increasing threat to liberal western societies, and said that, if he'd been younger, he would have emigrated to the U.S.A.
One of the few politicians who seemed to be exempt from Van Gogh's criticisms was the right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn, who was assassinated in 2002. Van Gogh usually referred to him as the "divine baldhead". After Fortuyn's death, Van Gogh continued attacking the remaining members of the Pim Fortuyn List as he did other politicians. His political idol from then on was Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Working from a script written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, van Gogh created the 10-minute movie Submission. The movie deals with the topic of violence against women in some Islamic societies; telling the stories of four abused Muslim women. The title itself, "Submission", is a translation of the word "Islam" into English. In the film, women's naked bodies are veiled with semi-transparent shrouds as they kneel in prayer, telling their stories as if they are speaking to Allah. Qur'anic verses unfavourable to women are projected onto their bodies in Arabic. In August 2004, after the movie's broadcast on Dutch public TV, newspaper De Volkskrant reported on claims of plagiarism against Hirsi Ali and Van Gogh, made by internet journalist Francisco van Jole. Van Jole said the duo had "aped" the ideas of Iranian-American video artist Shirin Neshat, whose work made abundant use of Arabic text projected onto bodies. After the broadcast of Submission, Van Gogh and Hirsi Ali also received death threats. Van Gogh did not take these very seriously and refused any protection, reportedly telling Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "Nobody kills the village idiot", a term he frequently used to refer to himself.
Unfortunately Mohammed Bouyeri did kill the "Village idiot", but as you have read above the AIVD screwed up big time.
I'm not a politician, I didn't dig too deep into this assassination, but it could be connected to 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan. The Americans were scared to death after 9/11 and it was the perfect way for the US to start the war against Afghanistan. Now the Dutch are not that easily impressed, although they were deeply shocked by the 9/11 attacks, but we're talking three years after those attacks here.
After the assassination of Theo van Gogh the news was dominated by threats from Muslim fundamentalists and Al Qaida for years, until after the conviction of Bouyeri. The USA and several other NATO countries already sent troops to Afghanistan, but The Netherlands had not been sending troops as of yet. Surprisingly 1,200 - 1,400 Dutch military were mandated by the Dutch Parliament in February 2006. In my opinion, the Dutch would have had strong objections against sending troops there, but since the MSM scared them so much with their stories about threats from Muslim fundamentalists and Al Qaida, things went smoothly. Still till today I'm wondering what the hell we are doing there.
Another reason to suspect a conspiracy is the following:
06/05 - A movie by Theo van Gogh
A Dutch Film maker and admirer of Fortuyn, Theo van Gogh, was filming a movie about his assassination and the conspiracy theorie behind it in 2003.
Van Gogh never got the chance to finish his movie, was he onto something..?
To read more about the assassination of Pim Fortuyn, please read Souza's post:
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