Irshad Manji reviews "Fitna"

[Universe Prince]

A couple of excerpts:

The politician's problems do not stop there. By stitching together one inflammatory visual after another, Wilders has achieved little more than a garden-variety harangue. This makes "Fitna" not only dull but, worse, easily dismissed by those who deserve to be held accountable for their silences about violence and human rights abuses committed under the banner of Islam. A more engaging approach would have been to pepper the film with positive verses from the Qur'an, thereby revealing that Muslims who expound hostility are actively choosing to ignore the better angels of Islam. There are plenty of positive passages to highlight. The possibility for women's dignity is shown by 3:195, which states that God rewards "any worker among you, be you male or female -- you are equal to one another." Imagine aligning that passage with the shot of a woman's body mutilated by an honor killing. [...] Above all, Wilders missed the opportunity to give Wahhabi sermonizers and sympathizers a real run for their oil money. He could have done so by cutting between their fevered warnings of hellfire on the one hand and, on the other, diverse Muslims reading 2:256 of the Quran: "There is no compulsion in religion." The resulting message is simple yet nuanced: If Saudi-inspired Muslims insist on literalism, then why not take literally the Quran's crystal-clear decree against compulsion? None of this demands deleting or diluting reality. I believe Wilders has every right to publicize harsh verses from the Qur'an. He also has the right to make a painfully stale statement.

Whole thing at the other end of this link.