Wilders both admired and reviled in Canada

The leader of Dutch anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV) Geert Wilders is in Canada for a series of speeches. He set the tone of his visit immediately on his arrival in London Ontario: “We will survive. We will hold back Islam. We will defend our freedom.” The Dutch know Mr Wilders well. How will he go down in Canada?
by Heleen Sittig and Peter Hooghiemstra
Tarek Fatah is a progressive Canadian Muslim: “I support his coming here and speaking because he has the right to speak and he raises issues which are valid. I would have hoped there would be a debate in which we say: what do we do? You simply can't say: We’ve got one billion Muslims, let's get rid of them.”
Mr Fatah has his own television programme, writes books, supports gay rights and backs the division of church and state. He thinks Mr Wilders poses the right questions but doesn’t give the right answers. However, he firmly believes that the Dutch politician should be allowed to say what he wants.
Same-sex marriage
Mr Wilders has been invited to Canada by conservative Christian organisations. He is giving speeches in Toronto and Ottawa in Canada and in Nashville in the United States. For security reasons, the events will not be open to the public but will be strictly by invitation only.
Alia Hogben chairs the Canadian Council of Muslim Women: “Wilders has been brought here by the Christian right, people who take the Bible literally and are, for instance, fiercely opposed to same-sex marriage.”
Mr Wilders is a staunch supporter of gay rights. Ms Hogben presumes his association with the Christian right is the result of a common anti-Islam stance. Just like Mr Fatah, she doesn’t have a problem with Mr Wilders being invited to Canada – everyone is welcome. However, she hopes people will remain alert:
“I hope people have enough sense to realise that he is associating with people who are narrow-minded, who are racists, who are bigots, who see the world in a very intolerant, narrow manner - as do some Muslims.”
Liberation
In his first speech in Canada, Mr Wilders talked about the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945. He paid tribute to the major role played by Canadian forces in freeing the Dutch from the Nazis. That’s the reason, he said, that he wants to help prevent Canada from falling under the yoke of Islam.
He acknowledged that Canada is an immigrant country, which has become home to people from many countries including the Netherlands. The difference is that, in the past, immigrants integrated, whereas the present generation of Muslim newcomers, according to Mr Wilders, refuse to do this. He warned they are intent on ‘Islamising’ the countries where they settle, including Canada.
Canada currently has a population of 34 million, of which about two percent is Muslim.
Just as in the Netherlands, Mr Wilders excites a wide range of reactions. “Here, Wilders is idolised by right-wing groups who are against immigration, but he is reviled by the left,” explains Mr Fatah. Anti-racist organisations have demonstrated against his controversial visit.
(mw/rk)