A Dictionary of Dutchness

Theo van Gogh

Controversial film-maker Theo van Gogh was murdered by a Dutch Islamic extremist in November 2004. His violent death caused shock waves not only in Holland but throughout the world and left the Dutch reputation as a tolerant multicultural society in tatters. The legacy of ‘Van Gogh’ (as people now often refer to the event) has been a further hardening of attitudes against the Netherlands’ Muslim community (5% of the national population according to official 2009 figures). Political commentators like to refer to the period ‘before Van Gogh’ and ‘after Van Gogh’.