On air at 1100GMT: Your verdict on the Geert Wilders acquittal.
| 10:19 UK time, Thursday, 23 June 2011
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This programme has now been broadcast. You can listen toÌýa podcast of theÌýdiscussion here.
The Dutch far-right politician described Islam as "fascist", comparing the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf. But a judge has decided that his statements were "acceptable within the context of public debate" and he has been acquitted of charges of inciting hatred against Muslims. Geert Wilders had insisted his statements were directed at Islam and not at Muslim believers - something which is legal under Dutch law.
Is this a victory for freedom of speech? Or evidence of a growing acceptance of islamophobia?
OliverCooper tweets
"Geert Wilders's acquittal is a victory for free speech. I would never vote for Wilders, but criticism - however pointed - is sacred."
Santosh posted on facebook
"Give muslims a chance to explain their religion 1st! Outside the muslim world many people have no idea what the holy book of quran actually says."
wyclif tweets
"Geert Wilders acquitted on hate speech charges. State-sanctioned persecution of free opinion fails, as does Islamofascism."
He's not a man who shies away from controversy.
His film "Fitna" was made showing shocking images of 9/11 and other terror attacks on western targets interspersed with verses from the Koran. No TV company in the Netherlands would broadcast the 17-minute film and some Dutch politicians tried to impose a ban before Mr Wilders posted it on the internet in March 2008.
The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Dutch media that he is opposed to radical politics. Without mentioning anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, he said,
says
"what may begin as a simple lack of tolerance can quickly escalate into something far more dangerous. Furthermore, it is also difficult to eradicate extreme xenophobia once the seeds have been sown. It usually snowballs as has been the case in countries like the Netherlands, which has gone from being seen as a tolerant nation to one of the post racist and, in particular, anti-Muslim in Europe thanks to political figures such a Dutch MP Geert Wilders."
Are comments, like the ones made by Wilders, fuelling anti Muslim sentiment across Europe? Does it open debate, or cloud it, as suggested by Mark on facebook
"There must surely be less inflammatory ways for him to voice his misgivings about Islam. While I vehemently resist the idea that free speech does not apply to religion, his choice of words and comparisons with the Nazis seem clearly intended to stir up bigotry."
