Dutch fear Muslim anger as anti-Koran film hits Web

By Emma Thomasson

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands government tried to defuse Muslim anger after the release of a film by a Dutch lawmaker that accuses the Koran of inciting violence and shows an image of the Prophet Mohammad primed to explode.

Islam critic Geert Wilders launched his movie on Thursday evening. Titled "Fitna," a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife," it intersperses images of the September 11, 2001 attacks and other Islamist bombings with quotations from the Koran.

The film warns that the rising number of Muslims in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe threatens democratic societies. It urges Muslims to tear out "hate-filled" verses from the Koran.

After the caption "The Netherlands in the future?" the film shows images of gay men being executed, children with bloody faces, a woman being stoned and genital mutilation.

It concludes with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb under his turban, originally published in Danish newspapers, accompanied by the sound of ticking.

The Dutch government has distanced itself from Wilders' views, hoping to avert the kind of Muslim backlash Denmark suffered in 2006 over cartoons of Mohammad.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said he hoped there would not be a violent reaction to the film.

"We believe it serves no purpose other than to cause offence," Balkenende said. "But feeling offended should never be used as an excuse for aggression and threats."