During the rally being organised by a group called Stop Islamization Of America (SIAO) which wants to prevent the building of a mosque so close to Ground Zero, Wilders will be one of the speakers -- which also include Newt Gingrich and other prominent politicians, plus 9/11 family members.
There was a time when Geert Wilders was mainly known as the troublesome film-maker of Fitna, as the radical anti-Islamic right-winger who wants the Koran to be banned and a 1,000 Euro fine for each woman wearing the burqa or another form of veil in public, as the man who believes that Islamic culture is secretly conquering Europe by way of immigration; and by producing way more offspring than the local, Caucasian Europeans.
In February 2009, he was
banned from visiting the United Kingdom on the grounds that he posed a potential threat to community harmony, and in October of the same year, he was
booed offstage in Philadelphia, yet a lot had changed since then. Not only has the American right become more outspoken in their fear of Islam, but Wilders has also way more clout now at home, where his Party for Freedom (PVV) gained more seats than any other in the June 2010 general elections, and is now the third largest in the Netherlands.
Although the Dutch election were held on June 6, there is still no government. None of the other parties want to be seen working with Wilders' PVV, but no one seems to be able to form a coalition without him. As one can read on the website of
Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Dutch politicians are trying to have him give a non-controversial speech while in New York, but Wilders is defiant.
One of his critics is outgoing Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen of the Christian Democrats, but Wilders had the following retort:
"We have agreed that, on the one hand, I will keep speaking my mind. About Islam, about New York and also about that terrible mosque which is being built there. And Mr Verhagen, in turn, can say what he wants to say about that, also when he disagrees. It’s a practical agreement 'to agree to disagree', and that is fine”.
In the same article, another quote by Wilders shows exactly where he stands:
"We cannot escape from totalitarian ideologies that want to destroy us. Well, the totalitarian ideology that wants to destroy our freedom today unfortunately is the Islam, and we should stand up and fight it."
An interesting detail about the other Dutch parties interest in having him keep quiet has been published on Wilders' own website, where he published the Dutch government's financial support for the Ground Zero project, a $1 million grant made to the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA) headed by Imam Rauf and Ms. Khan.
All of this is even more interesting to see unfold because of the historical dimension. After all, New York City once was called New Amsterdam, established by the Dutch West India Company in 1624.
