Taken from News Scotsman.com 2 Nov 2004

A Dutch film-maker who received death threats after making a movie criticising the treatment of women under Islam was murdered in an Amsterdam street today. A suspect, a 26-year-old man with dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality, was arrested after a shoot-out with officers that left him wounded, police said. Theo van Gogh had been threatened after the August airing of his film, Submission, which he made with a right-wing Dutch politician who had renounced the Islamic faith of her birth. Van Gogh had received police protection after its release. In a recent radio interview Van Gogh dismissed the threats and called the movie “the best protection I could have. It’s not something I worry about”.

Police said Van Gogh’s killer shot and stabbed his victim and left a note on his body. They declined to comment on reports that Van Gogh’s neck was slashed. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende called on the Dutch people to remain calm and not to jump to conclusions.

In a report by Dutch national broadcaster NOS, an unidentified witness who lives in the neighbourhood said she heard six shots and saw the suspect concealing a gun. She said he walked away slowly, spoke to someone at the edge of the park, and then ran. She said he was wearing a long beard and Islamic garb and appeared to be either an Arabic man or someone disguised as a Muslim.

Another unidentified witness told Dutch Radio 1 the killer arrived by bicycle and shot Van Gogh as he got out of a car. “He fell backward on the bicycle path and just laid there. The shooter stayed next to him and waited. Waited to make sure he was dead.”

In a written statement, the prime minister said, “Nothing is known about the motive. “I want to call on everyone not to jump to far-reaching conclusions. The facts must first be carefully weighed so let’s allow the investigators to do their jobs,” he said.

Police declined to comment on the possible motive or to give further details. Police spokesman Eric Vermeulen said the attacker fled to the nearby East Park, and was arrested after exchanging gunfire with police. Both the suspect and a policeman suffered minor injuries. “They were conscious” when taken to hospital, Mr Vermeulen said.

Van Gogh’s killing immediately rekindled memories of the 2002 assassination of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn who polarised the nation with his anti-immigration views and was shot to death days before national elections. In addition to his film, van Gogh also wrote columns about Islam that were published on his website, www.theovangogh.nl, and Dutch newspaper Metro. Submission aired on Dutch television in August and enraged the Muslim community in the Netherlands.

It told the fictional story of a Muslim woman forced into a violent marriage, raped by a relative and brutally punished for adultery.

The English-language film was scripted by Somali-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a member of the Dutch parliament, who has repeatedly outraged fellow Muslims by criticising Islamic customs and the failure of Muslim families to adopt Dutch ways. The film-maker was the great grandson of the brother of famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, who was also named Theo.