Dutch Relief at Muslim Restraint Over Koran Film

The Netherlands breathed a sigh of relief on Friday after Dutch Muslims reacted with restraint to the release of a film by a Dutch lawmaker that accuses the Koran of inciting violence.

Dutch authorities reported a calm night after Islam critic Geert Wilders launched his movie on Thursday evening, in contrast to unrest that swept the country following the murder by a militant Islamist in 2004 of film director Theo van Gogh.

The Dutch government worked for months before the film appeared to defuse Muslim anger over its theme. In a statement broadcast live on television on Thursday in both Dutch and English, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said he rejected Wilders' views.

"The government is heartened by the initial restrained reactions of Dutch Muslim organisations," he said. "The Dutch government stands for a society in which freedom and respect go hand in hand... Let us solve problems by working together."

Muslim groups have appealed for calm and mosques plan to open their doors to the public on Friday to defuse tension.

"Relief over a 'mild' Fitna," De Volkskrant newspaper said on its front page. "Neatly told but no incitement to hate," read the headline in the mass-circulation De Telegraaf, which said legal experts did not think Wilders had committed blasphemy.

Titled "Fitna", an Arabic word sometimes translated as "strife", the film intersperses images of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and other bombings with quotations from the Koran.

It starts and finishes with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb under his turban, originally published in Danish newspapers, accompanied by the sound of ticking.

Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who drew the image, said he planned to take legal action on Friday to have it removed from the film, saying it was taken out of context.

"(The cartoon) is aimed at the fanatical terrorists that use interpretations of Islam and the Koran as their spiritual dynamite," he told Danish news agency Ritzau on Thursday.

DUTCH, DANISH FLAGS BURNED

The image ignited violent protests around the world and a boycott of Danish products in 2006. Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet as offensive.

Last month, Danish newspapers sparked more anger when they reprinted the image in solidarity with the cartoonist after three men were arrested on suspicion of plans to kill him.

Before the film's release, demonstrators had already taken to the streets from Afghanistan to Indonesia to burn Dutch and Danish flags, and the governments of Pakistan and Iran sharply criticised Wilders' project.

NATO has expressed concern the film could worsen security for foreign forces in Afghanistan, including 1,650 Dutch troops.

The film says that the rising number of Muslims in Europe threatens democratic values. It urges Muslims to tear out "hate-filled" verses from the Koran.

After the caption "The Netherlands in the future?" the film shows images of gay men being executed, children with bloody faces, a woman being stoned and genital mutilation.

The Netherlands is home to almost 1 million Muslims out of a population of 16 million.

A court in Rotterdam is due to hear an injunction against Wilders on Friday brought by the Dutch Islamic Federation. The politician said on Thursday the film did not break any laws.

Wilders has been under heavy guard because of Islamist death threats since the murder of director Van Gogh after he made a film critical of Islam's treatment of women.

Earlier this month, Dutch security officials raised the national risk level to "substantial" because of the Wilders film and perceptions of an increased al Qaeda threat.

Dutch exporters have expressed fears of a possible boycott in the Muslim world, though trade with such states is small. There is also concern for 25,000 Dutch citizens living in Muslim countries.