Rasmusen Weblog

On November 2, the day on which Americans gave their verdict on the president, the people of the Netherlands received, through the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, a horrific reminder that no country anywhere can be truly be said to be immune from the threat posed by Islamic extremism. In Amsterdam that day, an assassin shot Van Gogh, stabbed him, and then butchered him like a sacrificial animal. By making the film Submission, a caustic attack on Muslim misogyny, Van Gogh had transgressed the code of the fanaticism that has, alas, made its home in Holland too. And for that he had to die. In the aftermath, there was tough talk from the Dutch government, but the best clue as to what will happen next comes, probably, from Rotterdam. There, a local artist reacted to the murder by painting a mural that included the words "Thou Shalt Not Kill." Fair comment, you might think. Apparently not. The head of a nearby mosque complained. The police showed up. City workers sandblasted the inconvenient text into oblivion. "Thou Shalt Not Kill." Erased, obliterated, unacceptable. Much like Theo van Gogh. R.I.P.