Eldad angers Tibi with plans to screen controversial film on Islam

MK Arieh Eldad (National Union-NRP): "First of its kind" coalition of European legislators will examine ways to stop the global spread of Islam.

By SHELLY PAZ
tibi 248.88 AJ (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
tibi 248.88 AJ
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
MK Arieh Eldad (National Union-NRP) announced Tuesday that a "first of its kind" coalition of European legislators will examine ways to stop the global spread of Islam. Eldad refused to disclose further details before a press conference scheduled for this morning at a Jerusalem hotel, where, he said the coalition's agenda and members will be revealed. Eldad added that the coalition was planning a conference for later this year in Jerusalem. Eldad, who recently returned from a trip to the Netherlands, meet with Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, creator of the highly controversial 16-minute film, Fitna (Arabic for discord) and whom Eldad revealed is a member of the new coalition. Eldad plans to show highlights of the film during his press conference. Upon hearing that the film will be shown in Jerusalem, MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra'am-Ta'al) said that these sorts of actions are wrong and promoted Islamophobia. "This is an inflammatory portrayal by extreme Jews and Europeans that encourages Islamophobia [which is] based on a hatred of Islam and Arabs," Tibi told the Post. "This is typical Jewish racism that attacks an entire religion. I despise the film, its creators, this conference and all the people that take part in it. One must not be drawn into this film's provocation." Originally released online in March; Fitna claims that Islam and the Koran promote modern terror. The film shows footage of speeches by extreme Muslim leaders glorifying jihad and their hatred of Jews, democracy and freedom. It splices clips of graphic violent actions by radical Muslims with verses from the Koran and asserts that such verses lead to such actions. The film goes so far as to question the democratic future of Netherlands and the Western world if radical Islam is not stopped. Following its initial debut online, it was promptly removed following serious threats against the website's staff. It was then reposted and taken down in order to address risks to the website's integrity, and then it was posted and removed once again for copyright violations. A second edition was released in April and is available on the web.