JAKARTA Indonesia on Friday warned a Dutch lawmaker not to release an anti-Islam film which could destroy interfaith harmony, the country foreign ministry said here. Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, who heads the Freedom Party, will release his short film this month, which he says will depict the Koran as a ‘fascist book’, despite mounting protests and disagreement from the Dutch government.
Indonesian foreign ministry and religious leaders from all religions have opposed the release, saying it could trigger backlash from Muslims. “The Dutch government has failed to convince Wilders not to release the film for the risks of backlash should the film to be released,” spokesman of the ministry Kristianto Legowo told a press conference at the ministry office.
In 2006, protesting and rioting erupted in many Muslim countries, including the biggest Muslim country, Indonesia, after a publication of the cartoon of Prophet Mohammad with a turban resembling a bomb in a Danish newspaper. It killed more than 50 people and destroyed three Danish embassies.
The spokesman said that the film would hamper the interfaith dialogue that has been actively promoted by Indonesia and other countries. “The film will be an obstacle to attempts that we and other countries have initiated. We do not want this to occur,” said Legowo. Separately, the top leaders of the five religions in the country have also strongly opposed the display of the film.
“I and four other top religious leaders from other religions have declared to refuse the release of the film,” the chairman of the biggest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Hasyim Muzadi told. “It could destroy the harmony among the inter faiths,” he added.
