Letter

To: Mr. Gerrit Zalm
Leader of the VVD party
The Hague

The Ambassadors/Heads of Mission of the Member States of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) based in The Hague present their compliments to Mr. Gerrit Zalm, Leader of the VVD party. We wish to share with you our concerns regarding the insulting comments made against the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) by a newly elected Member of Parliament from the VVD, Mrs. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, in an interview with the Trouw newspaper on 25 January 2003.

The comments are clearly based on a distorted view of the history of Islam and of Islam itself and are completely unacceptable. Whether she intends to or not, Mrs. Hirsi Ali,s scurrilous remarks have offended the religious sensibilities of 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, including Dutch and European Muslims.

As you are aware, following the horrendous events of September 11 in the United States, Islam and Muslims have become the victims of misconceptions and negative stereotyping in Western countries. The world is faced with the danger of a serious confrontation between the West and Muslims. You will appreciate that there is an urgent need to foster greater tolerance and understanding between the West and the Muslim world. Remarks such as those uttered by Mrs. Hirsi Ali, a member of the Dutch Parliament, will not contribute towards promoting understanding between our two civilisations.

In this regard, we would respectfully remind the VVD of two of its cherished principles as embodied in its Election Manifesto 2002-2006, which we believe are relevant to this issue. These are:
[...]

Clearly Mrs. Hirsi Ali's action is in direct contradiction to the abovementioned principles. You will surely agree that freedom, in this case freedom of expression, should be exercised in a responsible manner. Whilst we appreciate the democratic values that this country holds dear, which includes the fundamental right to the freedom of expression, we nevertheless believe that this right should not be used as an excuse to denigrate and belittle the religious beliefs of others. Public officials in particular are expected to exercise circumspection in the exercise of this right.

We are deeply concerned about this disturbing trend of condemnation and vilification of Islam and Muslims which is becoming increasingly apparent in this country. If this is allowed to continue we believe that the image of the Netherlands as a country which promotes equality, liberalism and tolerance is in serious danger of being tarnished.

We sincerely hope that such behaviour from a public figure would not lead to divisions, polarization and inter-communal friction within Dutch society.

We concur with the voices from various circles in this country calling upon the esteemed party of the VVD to give an assurance that the VVD does not support the views of Mrs. Hirsi Ali on Islam and the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) and to direct Mrs. Hirsi Ali to issue a public apology and a repudiation of the statement in question.

Please accept, Sir, the assurances of our highest consideration.

[w.g.]

Ambassador of Sudan,
Current Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the OIC,
On behalf of the Ambassadors/Heads of Mission of the Member States of the OIC (list attached)