Murder of Theo Van Gogh
The murder of Theo Van Gogh on November 2, 2004, in Amsterdam, highlights a significant clash between artistic expression and religious sensitivities. Van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker known for his provocative views on Islam, was shot and stabbed in broad daylight, an act carried out by Muhammad Bouyeri, a 26-year-old of Moroccan descent. This violent incident occurred shortly after the airing of Van Gogh's controversial film *Submission*, which criticized the treatment of women in Islamic culture, particularly depicting themes of abuse and the perceived oppression within societies influenced by Islam. The film's graphic content, including the display of Koranic verses on the bodies of women, sparked outrage among many in the Muslim community.
Following the murder, tensions escalated in Dutch society, traditionally viewed as liberal and tolerant. The incident prompted public gatherings in tribute to Van Gogh and led to acts of violence against Muslim schools and mosques. Bouyeri was arrested and later sentenced to life imprisonment, with authorities labeling the act a terrorist attack aimed at instilling fear among the public and politicians, including Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who collaborated with Van Gogh on *Submission*. The aftermath of this event deepened existing societal divisions in the Netherlands and raised broader questions about the integration of immigrant communities in Europe, especially in light of growing concerns about extremism.
Murder of Theo Van Gogh
Date: Nov. 2, 2004.
Place: Amsterdam.
Incident: Dutch film maker Theo Van Gogh, a distant relative of the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, was shot and stabbed to death on the street in midday.
Context: A film by Van Gogh, a long-time outspoken critic of Muslim culture, was shown on Dutch television two months before the murder. The film, Submission depicted what Van Gogh regarded as suppression of women in Islamic culture. Although the film deals with an incestuous rape and the punishment of the victim for adultery, Dutch Muslims were infuriated by images of what they considered disrespect of the Koran. In the film verses from the Koran are projected onto naked female bodies which are barely covered with transparent veils.
Known or presumed perpetrators: A 26-year-old Dutch citizen of Moroccan parentage, Muhammad Bouyeri, 26, was arrested for stabbing Van Gogh and later sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Impact: In Dutch society, which considers itself the most tolerant in Europe, the incident nevertheless touched off widespread criticism of perceived intolerance by Holland's minority Muslims.
Contents
The Incident
At about 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 2, 2002, the Dutch filmmaker and author Theo Van Gogh was shot from across the street in Amsterdam. His attacker then ran across the street and stabbed Van Gogh before attaching a note to his body with a knife and fleeing. The note threatened Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born member of the Dutch parliament who had written the script for Van Gogh's recent short film (10 min.) Submission graphically depicting physical and psychological abuse of Muslim women.
Shortly after the shooting police cordoned off a nearby park and exchanged gunfire with the suspect; he and one policemen were wounded before the incident ended with the arrest of the suspect.
Perpetrators/Suspects
Police arrested Muhammad Bouyeri, 26, and charged him with the murder, to which he later confessed. Five other Muslims living in Amsterdam were accused of conspiring with Bouyeri to kill Van Gogh. Bouyeri had previously been under police surveillance at his small apartment in Amsterdam, which had become a meeting place for young Muslims who, like Bouyeri, had adopted Arab-style dress. Two men thought to have contact with Bouyeri and also accused of connections to Islamist radicals in Morocco were also arrested.
Dutch authorities conceded that the prime suspect and others arrested had been under surveillance for possible links to Islamist radicalism and possible links to international Islamist terrorist networks.
Police in Holland and Spain investigated possible links between Van Gogh's shooter and Islamist fundamentalists who were earlier arrested in Holland and in Spain. Arrested in Spain in October 2003 was Abdeladim Akouad (aka Naoufel), arrested at the request of Moroccan authorities who suspected him of involvement in suicide bombings in Casablanca that killed 45 people on May 16, 2003. Akouad was said by Dutch authorities to have had contact with Samir Azzouz, a Dutch Moroccan, who was arrested in 2003 and again in 2004 in possession of bomb-making materials. Azzouz in turn had been seen frequenting the small apartment rented by Bouyeri.
In July 2005 a court sentenced Bouyeri to life in prison without parole, concluding that killing Van Gogh had been a "terrorist attack" intended to intimidate politicians and the public. Bouyeri had conceded in court that he murdered Van Gogh.
Broader Impact
Van Gogh's murder shocked many in Holland and brought to the surface long-simmering tensions between conservative Muslims and citizens in one of Europe's most liberal and tolerant societies.
In the immediate aftermath of the murder at least 20,000 people gathered at the scene in tribute to Van Gogh, and several Muslim schools and mosques were targets of arson.
The impact of the crime was also felt in other countries, notably Germany, which are home to a significant number of Muslims, mostly immigrants.
Politicians in Holland, Germany, and other countries were soon quoted as raising questions about the viability of having a large community of highly conservative and sometimes intolerant Muslims living in the midst of largely secular societies.
In October 2005, eleven months after Van Gogh's murder, police arrested seven people whom they accused of being part of a Dutch network of Muslim extremists plotting to assassinate prominent politicians. Among those thought to have been targeted was MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who had collaborated with Van Gogh on his film about abuse of Muslim women.
Among those arrested in 2005 was Samir Azzouz, 19, Dutch citizen of Moroccan descent and an associate of Bouyeri. Earlier Arrouz had been accused-but never convicted-of plotting to bomb Amsterdam's airport and a nuclear plant.
History/Background
Over the past 40 years Holland, like other European countries, accepted a large number of Muslim immigrants. There are thought to be just under one million Muslims living in Holland, out of a population of about 16 million.
While Holland since the 1960s steadily became a secular, tolerant, and liberal society, Muslim immigrants overall lived apart, although only a small percentage of Muslims are thought to practice their faith.
At the same time many Muslim societies witnessed a rebirth of fundamentalism, often traced to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which reacted against secular governments.
After the al Qaeda attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, many Europeans began voicing concerns that a large, largely segregated community that did not share European values could pose a threat to domestic tranquility.
Theo Van Gogh was one of the more outspoken such critics, as was a conservative Dutch politician, Pim Fortuyn, who was murdered by a radical environmentalist in 2002. " Like Van Gogh, Fortuyn had raised questions about having a separate and largely segregated community living inside Dutch society.
Bibliography
"A Firebrand under Cover," Economist, 4/2/2005, Vol. 375 Issue 8420, p. 26.
"A civil war on terrorism," Economist, 11/27/2004, Vol. 373 Issue 8403, p. 56.
"After Van Gogh," Economist, 11/13/2004, Vol. 373 Issue 8401, p. 55.
"Another political murder," Economist, 11/6/2004, Vol. 373 Issue 8400, p. 51.