Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders holds Muhammad cartoon contest

Is Geert Wilders really “far right”? Or just not far wrong? This is from Deutsche Welle, reporting on the result of the contest; most other newspapers are a few hours earlier reporting on the intention to hold the contest. 

Geert Wilders revived a controversial Prophet Mohammad cartoon competition. In a post on Twitter late on Saturday, Wilders called on people to send in their Mohammad cartoons

Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders announced on Sunday what he called the winner of a contest for caricaturing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, more than a year after he shelved a similar event due to the fear of a violent backlash.

The image Wilders called the “winner” was a dark image of a bearded man with a wrinkled brow wearing a black turban and black shirt.

“Freedom of speech must prevail over violence and Islamic fatwas,” said Wilders, who heads the largest opposition party in the Dutch parliament.

In August last year, Wilders canceled a similar contest after Dutch police arrested a 26-year-old man who had threatened to kill him over his anti-Islam stance.

Wilder’s previous plan to hold the Muhammad cartoon contest prompted huge demonstrations in some Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan. After he announced the plan to hold the competition last year, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the leader of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Labbaik Islamist party, issued a fatwa (religious edict) against Wilders.

In a tweet on Saturday, Wilders said it was unfortunate that Rizvi was not arrested in Pakistan for issuing fatwas against him.