"Anti-Quran film won't be aired till March"
THE HAGUE (AP): A far-right Dutch lawmaker's anti-Quran film will likely not be broadcast until March, he said in an interview published Saturday.
Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party that holds nine of Parliament's 150 seats, told De Telegraaf that the film would be ready two months later than he originally announced last year.
The paper said that Wilders sent it the 10-minute film's opening scene to prove he is making it. Delays in airing the film had led to media speculation that it may have been a hoax.
According to the Telegraaf, the shot shows the cover of a Quran and the text ``Warning, this book contains shocking images.''
Wilders' plan to make the film has already prompted the government to alert Dutch cities to prepare for possible violent reactions and warn embassies in Islamic countries.
``There are concerns here and abroad that the film could be offensive and could lead to reactions that endanger public order, security and the economy,'' Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said last week. ``The government is preparing for possible reactions to the film here and overseas.''
Wilders' planned film is reminiscent of the film ``Submission'' _ a fictional study of abused Muslim women with scenes of near-naked women with Quranic texts engraved on their flesh.
``Submission'' director Theo van Gogh was killed by a Muslim extremist who shot him and slit his throat on an Amsterdam street in 2004. Prominent Muslim critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who wrote the screenplay, was threatened in a note left on Van Gogh's body. She now lives in the United States, guarded day and night.
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