Message from Lucio Guerrrato, Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation.

The Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures deeply regrets for the release of the short-movie ‘Fitna’ for Geert Wilders, an extreme-right member of the Dutch Parliament.

The Foundation considers its content as being a misleading aggregation of extreme images and abusive extracts, aiming at discrediting Islam as a religion.

We need to be very clear on this matter: we shall not fruitlessly oppose – as it was the case during the polemic arisen by the publication of the cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad – two principles which are fully legitimate: on the one hand, the principle of freedom of expression and on the other hand, the respect of the others’ principles and beliefs, the result being reciprocal accusations of intolerance. In reality, the true intolerance consists in willing to force the other to accept what he/she finds morally offensive.

The ban on M. Wilders' short movie has nothing to do with the principle of freedom of expression. Indeed, its content, the political roots of its authors as well as the message it is conveying, demonstrate that its only aim is to increase feelings of religious hatred. For this specific reason, the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures considers that the work of M. Wilders has to be condemned without any reluctances. It also condemns and will always condemn any action - violent or verbal - coming from any source whose aim is to endanger the coexistence between people and communities from different nationalities or religions.