Over the last decade, immigration to the Netherlands has slowed down, especially immigration from non-European nations.

This is due in part to a more restrictive immigration policy, one which some consider to be not restrictive enough. For some Dutch citizens, the problem is mainly a cultural one. Nearly a million Muslims live in the Netherlands.

As much as 6% of Dutch voters cast ballots for Geert Wilders, the populist deputy who has made a career from his controversial views on immigration and Islam. His extreme positions have made him a moving target; he rarely sleeps more than a night in any given place.

His film “Fitna,” which means “internal division” in Arabic, came out at the end of March. It throws together Koran verses with images of terrorist attacks. For Wilders, the book so sacred to Muslims simply must be banned.

Slotervaart, a suburb where immigrants are a majority.

Fearing violence the day after Fitna was released, the Muslim community of Slotervaart held a press conference. The goal, according to Mohammed Rabbae, who heads the Association of Moroccans in the Netherlands, is to demonstrate his disapproval in a civilised context, and show that Islam is not threatening.

At the mosque in which the conference was held, the tone was serious, sending the image of a community concerned in the face of threat. The message was clear: theirs is not the religion Wilders described in his film.

In a country where cannabis and prostitution are legal, tolerance is an integral part of national identity. Yet, this image was set on its head by the actions of Wilders and the extreme right. Overseas, Dutch flags have been burned in protest.

After the explosive episode of the Danish caricatures featuring Prophet Mohammed, which aroused the ire of some Muslims, Dutch religious authorities did all they could to avoid embarrassment on that scale.

Muslims represent less than 6% of the total population, although in Rotterdam they number 25%. Despite the high proportion, a monument in the town centre celebrates the memory of a man who branded Islam a backward religion. Pim Fortuyns, the anti-immigration populist leader, shattered the notion of the Netherlands as a model multicultural society. He was assassinated 6 years ago. Wilders is his political heir.

Blame Politics

According to Peter Wierenga, a journalist at De Pers, the media are not to blame, but rather politics. “If politicians continue to complain, like the former minister who wanted to ban Fitna, of course these stories will make front-page news. And then we couldn’t blame Wilders.”

The Dutch government ,as a whole, does not share Wilders' views. Nonetheless, its anti-immigration policies do reflect some of his ideas.

Rachid al Ghazoui, alias Appa, is a rap singer. In his suburb, Vogelbuurt, living conditions for immigrants are subpar, despite the country's advanced development. Vogelbuurt is the poorest area in the nation. The unemployment rate of Turks and Moroccans is more than twice the national average. For Appa, the guilty parties are racism and politicians who fan its flames.

Since the release of Fitna, in these past few weeks, moderates across the couintry seem to have kept extremists under control. But tensions remain. According to a recent poll, 15% of the Dutch claim they would vote for an anti-immigration party, while nearly half consider Islam a threat.