So, Geert Wilders is out there telling all and sundry that he is about to go to prison for his statements about Islam, conveniently forgetting the fact that he has not been charged with anything yet – let alone been forced to stand up in court.

But Wilders would not be Wilders if he did not milk this media opportunity for all it is worth – especially in the foreign press.
The decision to prosecute him for insulting Islam is, he says, a black day for free speech. Even the august Wall Street Journal got in on the act, headlining its editorial with the absurd statement that the Netherlands is importing Saudi blasphemy norms – a comment which shows just how convincing the Wilders’ propaganda machine has been.
The Netherlands has arrested people in the recent past for using the word ‘homo’ to insult a police officer, for calling the queen a prostitute and, most recently, for wearing swasticas and saying that Jews should be gassed.
So it is only right that the courts should also be asked to decide whether referring to a ‘tsunami of Muslims’ and linking Islam to terrorism is against the law.
And we should not forget that the political party screaming for an ban on imam Khalid Yasin because of his objectionable views on gays, women and non-Muslims is Wilders’ own PVV. So much for freedom of speech there then.