the religion.
Van Gogh’s film, Submission, showing abused female bodies superimposed with misogynist texts from the Koran, was broadcast on Dutch television in September. Few pointed out that he could have made a similar film with misogynist texts from the Bible. Rather, it spoke to the growing belief that Islam is incompatible with Dutch society. Van Gogh’s killing fed this belief. Like September 11, it has been blamed on Islam, and so all Muslims are blamed for it.
Van Gogh, of course, was notably rude about Christianity – but that’s not the point really, is it? The point is, for Kuper, if a Dutchman criticises Islam, it can only be a reflection of Dutch Islamophobia.
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