Gogh caused an uproar this summer with his short film “Submission” about Islam and women

By Wafa Bubnad, IOL Correspondent

THE HAGUE, November 7 (IslamOnline.net) – The Muslim community in The Netherlands fears the backlash of the murder of controversial filmmaker Theo van Gogh, which has already started to manifest in a number of measures taken by the Dutch authorities.

Muslim activists suspect van Gogh killing, blamed on a citizen with Moroccan origin, to be exploited by far-right parties to place more restrictions on foreigners in the country, particularly Muslims.

"The assassination, which has criminal and personal nature, has been exaggerated as a national catastrophe and a political incident that requires swift political and legislative measures," Mohammad Ibrahim, a Muslim activist of Iraqi origin, told IslamOnline.net.

"We are afraid that the incident would by used by the rightist parties as an election chip, especially in view of the dramatic fallback in their parties' popularity."

The Dutch Muslim community swiftly condemned on Tuesday, November 2, the killing of van Gogh, who was shot and stabbed to death while cycling on an Amsterdam street.

Dutch police a arrested a 26-year-old citizen with Moroccan origin, identified as Mohamed B, claiming he has links to Islamic extremists.

Ibrahim further expected the incident to be used by the Dutch authorities to justify increasingly intervention in the affairs of the Islamic organizations and schools in the European country.

He anticipated more restrictions on granting Muslims entrance visas, monitoring of Islamic charities and dissemination of falsified information about Islam and Muslims in The Netherlands.

Manifestations

In a clear manifestation of the feared backlash, the Dutch parliament ordered the government Saturday to take legal action against Al-Tawhid mosque and expel its imam.

The legislature said Mohamed B used to frequent Al-Tawhid mosque, considered by the Dutch intelligence services a meeting place for Muslim "extremists."

They further claim that the Egyptian imam of the mosque, known only by his first name Mamdouh, incites violence and hatred.

The allegations were refuted by the mosque administration.

Also, the parliament is expected to authorize security authorities to expel any Muslim from the country, including nautralized citizens, in case of suspicions over ties with "extremist" groups.

More Arrests

In addition to Mohamed B, Dutch police have also held four other suspects, all of North African origin.

They have been charged of involvement in a "terrorist conspiracy" to kill van Gogh and other politicians, including controversial politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who hails from Somalia.

However, several experts have cast doubts about such a "conspiracy", citing conflicting statements from Dutch investigators on the issue.

Some investigators said Mohamed B was not a member of any extremist group, while others alleged he joined extremist groups to kill a number of political figures in the country.

Anti-Islam Filmmaker

The 47-year-old filmmaker, who sometimes claimed to be a distant relative of the late 19th-century artist Vincent van Gogh, caused an uproar this summer among the Dutch Muslim community with his short film “Submission” about Islam and women.

He made his film in collaboration with Ali, a vocal critic of women's treatment in Islamic countries and who was also under police protection after receiving death threats.

After the film was shown on Dutch television in August, van Gogh received death threats and police stepped up measures to protect him, much against his will.