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An ad for the "Women against Islamization" campaign in Belgium orchestrated by Flemish nationalist politician Filip Dewinter. The ad features Dewinter's 19-year-old daughter wearing an Islamic burqa thrown back to reveal her bikini clad body. The messages read: "Islam or freedom?" and "You choose."
A Flemish nationalist politician in Belgium has launched a new campaign that taps into anxiety about the country’s immigrant Muslim population, while capitalizing on the svelte figure of his 19-year-old daughter.
Filip Dewinter, a leader of the Vlaams Belang — or "Flemish Interest" party of Belgium — is publishing political ads featuring his daughter An-Sofie Dewinter donning a "niqab"— a conservative Islamic covering for women with the cloak thrown back over her shoulders to reveal her bikini-clad body. Across her chest is the message: "Freedom or Islam?" and across her hips, another that reads: "You choose."
The campaign billed as "Women against Islamization" sends a provocative message, in keeping with the anti-immigrant, anti-Islam platform of his Vlaams Belang party. The Vlaams Belang is a reincarnation of a previous political party that was forced by a Belgian court to dissolve because of its racist messages. It advocates strict limits on immigration, and argues that new arrivals should adopt Flemish culture and language.
The campaign echoes those by other nationalist groups in Western Europe which have risen on anti-immigrant or anti-Muslim sentiment, said Jonathan Laurence, a Boston College professor and author of the new book, "The Emancipation of Europe’s Muslims."
"The far Right in plenty of European countries has engaged in fairly provocative styles of messaging, saying that our country is being overrun by Muslims," said Laurence. "This (campaign) adds a layer of sex appeal," -- a tactic that he says could backfire.
"One interesting thing about something like this is that it will tend to push religious communities closer together because you find this kind of image mixing the sacred and the profane is offensive to other religious groups," said Laurence.
Even though few European Muslims wear the conservative face coverings, Dewinter’s ad campaign will heighten tensions, Laurence predicts.
"You would be very hard-pressed to find European Muslims who would defend the burqa,” said Laurence. "But the more they feel that they are being singled out, fingered as the only source of illiberalism in today’s society, the more likely they are to defend these kinds of practices."
Belgium followed France in putting in place a ban on Muslim "niqab" and like garments in 2011. A similar law is set to go into effect in the Netherlands in 2013. The debate over face coverings has come to symbolize the tensions over Islam in Europe. At the time of Belgium's ban, a BBC report cited legal critics who estimated that only a few dozen women of some 500,000 Muslims in the country actually wore the face coverings.
Belgium — and other European countries — do have Islamic groups that advocate extreme interpretations of the faith. Shariah4 Belgium opened a sharia court in Belgium for moderating disputes among Muslims according to an RT report. Not only did the move put the group on a collision course with right wing politicians like Dewinter, but it "freaked out" other Muslims interviewed for the story.
In January, RT reported, an Antwerp prosecutor recommended Shariah4 Belgium leader Foaud Belkacem be sentenced to a two-year prison term and a fine for inciting hatred and violence against non-Muslims. Dewinter alleged that the Muslim group called for his killing.
"There are movements that are not liberal and do not fit well with Europe," said Laurence. "In some ways the extremists from the far right and religious extremists are a match made in heaven."
An estimated 6 percent of Belgium’s population is Muslim, with most located in major cities.
More on msnbc.com and NBC News
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Oh, man. Europe is getting swarmed. Too bad.
The 21st century is going to be when population pressures force culture wars into Europe. Again.
This is a rational fear based on a real threat ''"Women against Islamization" sends a provocative message, in keeping with the anti-immigrant, anti-Islam platform of his Vlaams Belang party'' this should not be marginalized or scoffed at as it is a real and present danger also in the USA as we have learned in various Islamic attacks fort hood,911 etc etc.
Just don't send those Muslims over here!!!!
I hope the nutjob Islamic Extremists don't kill his daughter now. I would never put my daughter at risk like that...Better some unnamed model.
Let me clarify a bit: I meant, "better some unnamed model, who cannot be traced". Not that I want her to be killed instead.
I'm glad that a few brave souls are standing up for freedom and women's rights around the world. I find it stunning that westerners are just too damn PC and "refined" to realize that they are giving up all of the value freedom gives their nations in the name of not offending others and in to be 'in the face" of established religions, especially Christianity.
Unfortunately in Brittan, Belgium, France, the US and other places we are letting things get out of hand very quickly. You want sharia law? Well ok, cause we can't offend you (even though we have laws). Honor killings- well we don't like them, but we can't offend you by making you stop.
Add to that today in England the radical Imam called "Bin Laden's right hand man" was granted bail, so he's back out on the street. What the hell are people thinking??
Fear and foreplay huh? Always worked well in American politics.
. . . by pimping out his own daughter. Yeah, he sounds like a real hero, and a class act to boot.
That's what I was wondering about to. What a dumbass to put his daughter at risk. She'll never see it coming from those POS's.
The Dutch politician is also his daughter's pimp.
Whatever helps get those savages out of their country...
Obviously!
Holland, where the Dutch live & Belgium, where this article is about are actually two different countries.
Surely he could have come up with a more effective way of sharing his message. He comes across as being as much of a nutcase as those he rails against...
Nutcase? Surely, his message is as timely as it was after 9-11. I wouldn't exactly misunderstand his passion for fear of or hatred towards muslims. I think he's defending his country's culture and tradition. As he points out, this is about people adapting to other countries they choose to reside. Its like a will to contract when you sit at a restaurant and place an order, you enter a contract to accept the terms and pay for the meal. If you choose to live and reside in another country, you have to enter a contract to acknowledge that country's laws that are set to govern the people. Its as simple as that.
That's putting it mildly--this completely backfired on the grounds that I'd totally tap An-Sofie in her veiled getup.
I think Dean is right. You are too, Jules, the message is the right one. But under that burka, I would have dressed the girl in a nice blouse and a skirt about three inches above the knee, off the rack at JCPenny. Western, stylish and tastefully conservative. He was going for extreme shock value, obviously, and he shouldn't have. I personally see nothing wrong with a bikini, but the suggested prurience will give his opponents (the radical Islamists) the opportunity for an outlandish attack that can be made to appear logical, such as comment #3 above.
More like a match made in hell.
Nevertheless, I think this ad would be offensive to any Muslim. I'm not Muslim, in fact I'm an atheist, and I find this ad offensive. In this ad a strong nuance objectifies women, and I find it incredible that any man could use his own daughter for this project.
This is no different from the bully we all faced on the 4th grade school yard. If you stand against them, you know you're going to get it but you really have no choice.
on the fourth grade school yard, you knew you were going to get a black eye. These people have to face death. Hardly the same choice to be made here.
I suppose it's comforting to know that even Belgians have to deal with rightwing extremists. You can judge this guy's values by the way he sexually objectifies his own daughter. Now that's class!
seems he's more or less trying to prove a point. Are toddler pageant mom's any different? Besides, we only know its his daughter because it was pointed out, not that she has anything to do with the argument he's making...
No. They aren't any different. The parents who become involved in toddler pageants are scum of the earth, sexually objectifying their own babies. They should be in prison along with those who work for the company that produces the pornographic filth.
But how does the fact that some people engage in pedophilia, and other people pander to those who engage in pedophilia, have anything to do with whether there is something extremely creepy about using your own daughter for this provocative ad?
The argument that "Johnny did it first" doesn't hold water for a 4 year old and it doesn't work any better to defend the actions of a grown man.
Extremists of all favors are a danger. They use fear to try to persuade the weak-minded to do their bidding. It's nothing more than a power grab. It has been and always be a tool of the power-hungry. Unfortunately people still fall for it.
People who love freedom should always be on guard against any and all extreme views. Even if all you care about is your own self-interests just remember, your particular flavor of 'self-interest' might be the next one under fire.
No woman chooses freely to wear a burka, but I agree with you: the French law is imperfect. It criminalizes the victims.
That depends on what you mean by "burka." In most Arab Muslim countries, a burka is a full head-to-toe covering with a small slit for the eyes.
That's not what the picture shows.
Many Muslim women do freely choose to wear a hijab, which is the scarf you typically see. In the picture, the woman is also wearing a niqab, which is the veil covering the lower part of her face.
There are many reasons for a woman choosing to wear it. Just as a Christian woman wears a cross, the Muslima might choose this article of clothing to express her faith. She may have been raised in a culture where it is customary and would feel not fully dressed without it. Or she might live in a desert country where they are suddenly light sand storms. I speak from experience when I say it's quite useful to protect one's face from blowing sand that feels like you're being stabbed with a million small needles.
Interestingly, none of it is required by the Qur'an. It is suggested that Muslim women cover their heads when traveling so that strangers will know she is a Muslima rather than a slave, and is not to be molested. Even then, women are not commanded to wear it.
The command comes from men wishing to subjugate women.
Women wear it so they dont get stoned by the local sharia enforcers. Not my definitely of "freely." Sharia is the medieval arab culture's implementation of the koran.
No it isn't.
Educate yourself before spewing.
As much as I support Womens rights, I also would support the right of a woman to wear a Burka if she chooses to do so. Laws like the one in France are repressive too. In order to be a free society, shouldn't everyone be free to choose? It's not like an indecent exposure law.
In a free society, the burqa would be seen as demeaning to women. More often than not, the women who mask themselves aren't the ones making the choice.
Considering islam's violent reaction to pretty much everything, you can never really be sure it was a free choice.
Well this article was certainly disappointing. With a headline like "fear and sex appeal" I thought it was going to be about a bikini photoshoot with Chancellor Merkel.
oh great. Now I've got that image stuck in my head. ;(
And this is why we humans can never get along.
Personally, I think it should be the woman who decides what she wants to wear. Not culture (European or Islamic), not religion, and not men. Prohibition is just the other side of coercion. Freedom is choice, not approval.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_habit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burqa
question only for wise people, who is the most resemblance to the (master aezzra marry)?is sticking to veiled muslim woman? or the subjects of a bitch and instincts in the picture???
Is English a 2nd language, did you use Google translator, OR is the question for those who are so wise that only they can figure out the hidden meaning? Master aezzra marry??? WTF???
JUST READ ABOUT ISLAM TO KNOW HOW MUCH ISLAM KEEPS ALL RIGHTS OF WOMEN , GO TO HILL STUPED DURVIN>>>>>>>>>>
Well said, Moon. And I'm so glad you CAPITALIZED everything, so that message really comes across as heartfelt and dramatic.
btw, I've been to the hill, and yes, I was pretty stuped when I went, but I don't see what that has to do with anything.
What's durvin?
Christians and Muslims. Both equally stupid.
Master Bob - My Daughter-in- Law and I shouldn't say that when a woman marries your son in the Muslim world she becomes your daughter- well my daughter is a Muslim, she is married to my son and she is not stupid - she is beautiful, highly intelligent - enrolled at U of C and eventually wants to become a Doctor
We do not agree on many points - same as my agnostic son-in-law who is a Brit and my other daughter-in-law who is a Fundamentalist but we agree to disagree
And I relish in the differences because why - we all respect each other's opinions - and I know my children all love their spouses
Barbara Adams Jackson
Christians and Muslims aren't stupid themselves, they have stupid beliefs that tell the world what to do.
I have more respect for Muslims over Christians though because of the fact that they stick by their beliefs through the good and the bad instead of sugarcoating them.
As for me? I'm an agnostic atheist.
I feel Europe's extreme liberal stance on Islam will be part of the destruction of anything positive in Europe. Yes muslims should be free to practice their faith, so long as they do so within the human rights laws of those nations. Shariah law as they practice it is an abomination before god and man and defiles people. If this were the catholics making women wear face and head covers and doing so through force and coercion, every lefty would be condemning them, but it's the muslims so the far left says it's OK. You can't really compare christianity and Islam that much. Most christians have evolved alot through the centuries and that faith has been mostly a force for good in the world. Islam has produced very little of any good and is mostly still stuck in the fourth century. Yes, some muslims are really trying to reform the faith, but most are backwards people.
There's no shortage of backward Christians, especially in America.
The difference is, Muslims would wear the little headgear and stuff and go about their way.
A Christian would try to make a law making everyone wear their headgear.
Master Bob...Uhhh, really? Are you really that ignorant? Muslims DO have laws making everyone wear "the little headgear"..
What Christian laws make you wear something?
There's a big difference between christians protesting something and muslims killing somebody for a cartoon.
What happened to freedom of religion? In most countries women chose to wear a burqa, they are not forced. Now just like in every culture Islam does have its own extremists and those are what give the religion a bad name just like they exist within the catholic religion, Christianity, Jewish religion.
Someone else also suggested that they adopt the culture of the country they reside in.. I can at least speak for America, we are all a melting pot of different cultures. I think people keeping their culture is amazing and it should definitely be something that they make a decision on.. We have no right to take that away from anyone.. If you as an American were to go live somewhere else you would keep your traditions and values just because thats what you were raised with and what you know..
You still believe the melting pot fairy tale? People come here to be americans cuz america is successful and they want to join that culture. They quickly realize that old culture is what was keeping them back. Maybe the keep the language for a generation or 2 and some family receipes but that's it for the successful immigrants. Groups that "keep their culture" by hiding in enclaves just bring suspicion and isolation upon themselves. Just ask jews about all the crap they've had to deal with over the centuries. Life's a lot better if you know your neighbors.
It is very important for people to understand that all three of these Abrahamic religions are highly virulent and mutagenic Human Software Viruses (HSVs), which are designed to gradually grow and spread in a viral way among our human population here on Earth, until they one day collectively crash and explode our emerging human world in a final "End Time" programmed cataclysm of global warfare fueled with WMDs, known as the Christian Apocalypse or World War III. While there is some short term psychological, sociological and cultural good built into all three of these dangerous ET installed religions, this is only to facilitate their gradual growth and spread around our world in preparation for this final programmed "End Time" global disaster. It is important for people to understand that all three of these Abrahamic religions are biocybernetic warfare components of a larger ET designed PWMD, or Program Weapon of Mass Destruction, which is intended to plunge our world into a final programmed catastrophe of global warfare fueled with WMDs, for the express purpose of giving these offensive totalitarian ETs an eminent domain pretext for outside military intervention into our world under the guise of the returning Christ, Messiah, or 12th Imam, whichever the case may be.
These outside offensive totalitarian ETs are seeking to crash and explode our emerging human world, so they can thwart mankind's successful emergence as a full fledged member of our greater galactic community. They want to use their eminent domain rights of military intervention to move in on our world and take it over, and eventually take it completely away, after supposedly trying for a thousand intervening years following their military intervention to salvage or redeem mankind from their "hopelessly violent ways". Please understand that these ETS repeatedly masqueraded as Divinity toward mankind over a period of several thousand Earth years, in the process of covertly installing all three of these dangerous Abrahamic religions into our world. It is absolutely vital that all three of these dangerous Abrahamic religions be edited according to a future universal standard for all religion, which in turn requires that all religion in our world be fully compliant with modern day human rights, civil rights, and internationally accepted mental health standards, if this ET installed PWMD is to be successfully defused. I personally know all of this because I lived at Wright Patterson Air Force base from 1951 to 1953, while my grandfather (Colonel Charles Faulkner Carter) was second in command there. My grandfather was personally involved in the background investigation into the Roswell Incident of 1947. Mankind potentially has countless millions (even billions) of years of growth, development and expansion ahead of them, so long as they are not seduced and deceived by these ET installed terminal religious belief systems. This is the real "Gospel" or "Good News" which everyone on this Earth needs to hear. - Rick Carter
Wow. Tin foil hats, anyone?
I get you all wanting to prove a point to upset Muslims, I think this is a sick way of doing it. Modesty is great, this add is just showing how trashy Americans dress!!! Christian or not woman degrading themselves to get some attention rates low in a decent persons mind. This is sad............... I think any culture that tries to practise modesty is wonderful. We don't get enough of it. At least these woman have self respect. This is the way they were brought up how wrong for us to push our trashy ways on these decent woman....... Not all Muslims are out to kill others. There's good and bad in EVERY religion!!!
You missed basically the entire story. Congrats on that. If you'd read the story, you'd know that this had nothing to do with America or how anyone in America dressing. The point is not to 'push...trashy ways on these decent woman' (women?). It was to ask their country people are you for islam or not, cause if you are, they want to have women in burqas, etc...
If your religious feelings are hurt by anything anyone says, there is great strength in turning the other cheek.
Wow! We are talking about Islam here! Why would he use his daughter in this campaign? She could get killed! Not a very wise move. He is a politician and should understand the risk that he is taking in taking on this matter, but why subject your family to danger?
Anyone else notice the irony that a party claiming to stand up for women's rights is using the sexual exploitation of women to their "advantage"? Making women into nothing but sex objects is just as damaging as forcing them to wear a veil. why couldn't An-sophie have been doing something a bit more empowering, like operating heavy machinery, or drinking alcohol, or practicing her faith openly without shame?
Simple solution. Since all these Islamic countries want ZERO foreigners residing in their country....return the favor and deport/boot out all Islamics hell-bent on rubbing everyones' nose in their "customs" back to their country of origin.
Live and let live, everyone "do their own thing". The "melting pots" of the world have reached the boiling point and yes, there is such a thing as TOO much diversity. A country loses it's identity, it's collective soul.
Still love that band, wish they'd re-unite.
"In some ways the extremists from the far right and religious extremists are a match made in heaven."
That's NOT where the match was made!
Good for him and good for his party! It's way past the time to point out to everyone the horrible mistakes that were made in the easy immigration policies that allowed this hate filled culture of islam to proliferate. And we all should understand that if the 'religion' of islam is not a hate filled killing culture; then the leaders of this 'religion' would long ago have stamped out all terrorist activities and recruitment. But.....the islamist leaders and followers have done absolutely nothing to stop terrorism, therefore there is only one fact; that they quietly and tacitly approve. It's way past time for the world to unite and stamp out every vestige of this hate filled culture disguised as religion.
FEAR FEAR FEAR Using the same model as used by the GOp/TNutBaggers in America in Europe...
The Dumb FUX network is worldwide and is doing it's part with FEAR Propaganda to control the easliy led in Europe....
Wake Up whether it be America, Europe or the World, the 1% feels entitled to rule all of it and force the 99% too pay all the bill...
There once was a wise Native American chief that said there was nothing to fear from these white immigrants who seek to coexist.
this was shortly before the white settlers then butchered this particular Native American chief... lol - settlers wanting to coexist.... I don't think that was ever their plan!
As opposed to "we have 10 years to deal with global warming before the earth catches on fire?"