Death of a filmmaker: freedom of expression and tolerance under siege

Abstract

In November 2004 an Islamic fundamentalist shot and stabbed filmmaker Theo van Gogh (related to the famous painter). The Dutch filmmaker who had received death threats after releasing a movie critizing the treatment of Islamic women. Co-producer Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali who has been under threat for some time is now in hiding (the female version of Salmon Rushdie). Van Gogh was of the opinion that the Islam threatens the freedom of speech (Van Gogh’s ideas were often attended by strong language towards the Islamic community in the Netherlands (6% of the total population)). What will happen to the freedom of speech and the famous tolerance of the Netherlands in the near future? What kind of effects does it already have in discussions in the Dutch Parliament, in the media, in schools/universities and e.g. in libraries (collection development, cultural events, multicultural programes et cetera). Will libraries adhere to their multicultural policy or will they make a change in collection development objectives and multicultural programming to be in line with the new integration policy.