Geert Wilders has no doubt been denounced already as an "Islamophobe", and I would suspect he is now or will soon be under death threats. He is the leader of a new party in Holland, the Party for Freedom (PVV). Lately he has been saying some awfully politically incorrect things.

Wilders gave an extensive interview yesterday [2/12] to De Pers newspaper. In it, he outlined ambivalent feelings about the Middle East. Wilders travelled as a young man through Israel, Egypt, Turkey and Syria. "Oh, it is so beautiful there! The Syrian region of Palmyra for example (...) has a rich history, a rich culture (...) How often I was invited by people into their homes in small villages in the Middle East. And Iran, what friendly, lovely people live there (...) I only have something against the religion, not against the people."

Wilders discovered "that there is a constant factor" in the Middle East. "That the regime, the religion, the spiritual leadership is no good at all." There was not a specific moment when he became annoyed with Islam. "It happened gradually."

According to Wilders, Islam is a violent religion. "If Mohammed lived here today, I would propose tarring and feathering and hunting him out of the country as an extremist. (...) If Muslims want to stay here, they must tear up and throw away half the Koran. They must not listen to their Imam. I have read the Koran. (...) And I know that there are enough terrible things in it. If Muslims do assimilate, they are fully-fledged citizens, not a millimetre less valuable than you or I."

Wilders believes his new PVV party - it obtained 9 Lower House seats in November - can grow into "one of the biggest parties" in parliament. "Other parties avoid the themes that threaten us in our existence. Everything we are proud of, we sell to the devil. (...) You feel that you are no longer living in your own country."