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The Murder of Theo Van Gogh

Theo Van Gogh, 47, the great grandson of art dealer Theo Van Gogh and great grandnephew of the famed Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, led an extraordinary life much like his predecessors. Theo was an out-spoken and prominent Dutch film director, author, journalist, actor, producer and an advocate of free speech who used the media as an open forum to broadcast his controversial views on religion, politics and social mores and values. The candid and often provocative method he used to express his ideologies quickly propelled him into the national spotlight in the Netherlands.

However, his critical views and brusque approach also made him unpopular among a lot of people. According to a November 2, 2004 article in Expatica.com, businessman and broadcaster Harry Mens described Theo as "a bit of a 'kamikaze,' who expressed his views regardless of whom he might offend." And offend he did. He harshly criticized Christianity and Judaism. However, the Muslim community bore the brunt of his irritation, which was evident when he likened Dutch Muslim immigrants to "goat f--kers."

Video still from Submission

Anger against Van Gogh reached its pinnacle on August 29, 2004 with the airing of the television film Submission on Dutch television, which was the creation of Van Gogh and controversial Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The film depicted four partially nude women in long, dark transparent veils, who had texts from the Koran written in calligraphy on their bare skin. Some of the women appeared to have reddened whip marks on their backs and legs, on which the texts were written that described the physical punishments, sanctioned by the Koran for disobedient women. Not surprisingly, the highly controversial 10-minute film sparked outrage from the Muslim community. 

Not long after the release of Submission, Theo began to receive death threats. Concerned for his welfare, his colleagues urged him to hire a bodyguard for protection – a suggestion which Theo initially entertained. Yet, eventually he brushed it off because he didn't believe anyone would want to target him.

Pay Back for Submission

At approximately 8:45 a.m. on November 2, 2004, an unknown assailant dressed in a traditional Moroccan "djelleba," brutally attacked Theo outside of a city council building as he bicycled to work in central Amsterdam. The attacker shot Theo Van Gogh and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest, callously disregarding his victim's pleas for mercy. Despite his life-threatening injuries, Theo was able to gain enough momentum to stumble to the other side of the street but by the time he made his way across, his attacker shot and stabbed him again. He then slit Theo's throat with a butcher knife as onlookers gasped in sheer horror. 

Theo Van Goghs body, crime scene

In a final assault against his victim the attacker lodged his knife, which had a letter attached to it, into Theo's chest. The assassin then ran off through the neighborhood and into the nearby Oosterpark, where he and police exchanged gunfire. During the shootout, a motorcycle police officer and an eyewitness were seriously wounded.

Mohammed Bouyeri, mugshot

Just as Theo's murderer exited the other side of the park, the police caught up with him and shot him in the leg. He was immediately arrested and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his wounds. The attacker was eventually identified as 26-year-old Mohammed Bouyeri, an Islamic extremist with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationalities who was believed to have links with other Islamic militant groups. Investigators revealed that Bouyeri's motivation to kill was likely sparked by the movieSubmission and further aggravated by his hate of the western world and those who refused to accept Islamic values.

From Submission to Resistance

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, 37, lived a life few could ever imagine. She was born in Somalia but was forced to leave her native country with her family because her father was an unwelcome political dissident, Wikipedia.com reported. The article suggested that Ali was constantly on the move, temporarily living in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya and then Canada. Even though Ali was born and raised according to Islam, she rebelled against its teachings as she grew older. She believed Islam to be "backward" and its prophet Mohammed a pedophile because he married a 12-year-old girl, Cormac Mac Ruairi said in an Expatica.com article.

Ali fled from Canada to the Netherlands in 1991, escaping her religious confines and an arranged marriage to a distant cousin. Upon her arrival in the Netherlands, she obtained temporary refugee status until she became a recognized citizen several years later. Wikipedia.com reported that Ali studied political science at the renowned Leiden University and after graduation went on to conduct scientific research under the social-democratic party, PvdA, which primarily "focused on the integration of foreign women (mostly Muslim) into Dutch society." However, Ali abruptly left the PvdA in 2002 because she didn't think the party was strong enough concerning their stance on women's rights.

She found her true voice with the Dutch liberal party, VVD, which catapulted Ali into parliament as a member of the Lower House. While there, Ali drew the nation's attention to the "widespread but hidden violence against Muslim women," such as genital mutilation and spousal abuse, Marlise Simons reported in an International Herald Tribune article. Many Dutch Muslims were outraged by Ali's criticism of Islam because they believed she grossly misrepresented their religion and degraded believers. Consequently, she received many death threats and was forced to hire armed protection in order to avoid assassination attempts.

Resentment against Ali reached unprecedented levels after the release of Submission, for which she wrote the script. During the production of the film, Ali and Theo decided to use visually powerful "shock" tactics to get viewers attention and relay their message that the Muslim faith practices "savage medieval customs" and promotes violence against women, Simons reported. It was a view that not everyone shared.

The film provoked mixed reactions among Dutch audiences ranging from repugnance and anger to approval and praise. Ruairi quoted Mohammed Sini of the Dutch foundation of Islam and Citizenship who believed that the film "had gone too far and insulted many Muslims" who felt "their identity was under siege..." Conversely, VVD leaders Gerrit Zalm and Jozias van Aartsen expressed "support for the central message of the film," Ruairi stated. Regardless of the varying responses, Theo and Ali succeeded in getting their message out and causing a furor in the Netherlands concerning women's rights in the Muslim community.

Even though both knew that there were dangerous consequences for expressing their opinions, it was a chance they were willing to take in order to initiate change. They both paid an unimaginably high price. Theo sacrificed his life for his views and Ali continues to live in constant fear of a similarly gruesome fate. It is the high price for freedom of speech these days in not only the Netherlands but around the world. Many ask, is it worth it? Others believe that if they were to give up their freedom of speech, then the demise of democracy is close at hand. This, indeed, is likely the main objective of terrorists like Bouyeri, who seek to destroy western powers and along with it the fundamental rights and freedoms of its citizens. However, what few terrorists realize is that few are willing to give up such rights easily.

Mohommad Bouyeri

Mohammed Bouyeri

Mohammed Bouyeri was born in West Amsterdam on March 8, 1978. He was the only son of four siblings born to his Moroccan immigrant parents. As a youth, Bouyeri studied hard and made good grades in school. According to a November 28, 2004 Washington Post article by Glen Frankel, Bouyeri's primary interest was accounting, which he studied for five years at Mondriaan Lyceum. Thereafter, he entered a higher-education technical institute south of Amsterdam in the town of Diemen, where he studied business and IT. However, after several years he dropped out of school, failing to complete his degree.

According to Frankel, Bouyeri "spent a lot of time hanging out on the streets" of Amsterdam and at some point "was arrested and imprisoned for seven months" for a violent crime. It is believed that during his incarceration, Bouyeri immersed himself in the teachings of Islam. After his release, Bouyeri began volunteer work at the Stichting Eigenwijks neighborhood center in Amsterdam. Wikipedia.com reported that he worked hard setting up group activities for area youths and also assisting the "editorial team of the neighborhood newspaper Over 't Veld." He was well liked by his colleagues and was considered by many to be a pleasant and clever young man. However, problems began to surface at work when Bouyeri underwent a radical transformation.

Toby Sterling suggested in a November 2004 Associated Press article that Bouyeri's abrupt change was likely prompted by his interest in politics and the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. It was reported in the article that Bouyeri "grew radical after the death of his mother from cancer in fall 2002."  Sterling further stated that he began "wearing traditional Muslim dress" and attending services at the Al-Tawhid mosque, "where key Sept. 11 hijackers and plotters had reportedly met, including Mohamed Atta."

Bouyeri steadily distanced himself from his work and colleagues. Eventually, he completely stopped his volunteer work at the Stichting Eigenwijks. It is unclear if he took on a new job but what is known is that he devoted a large portion of his daily life to religious activities after he left the organization.

Schiphol Airport security guard

Bouyeri formed new friendships at this time with other men who shared similar extremist views. One person who Bouyeri befriended was Samir Azzouz, 18, an Islamic fundamentalist who was arrested in the Netherlands for plotting bomb attacks on Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and the Dutch Parliament, Expatica.com reported in a November 3, 2004 article. Bouyeri was believed to also have formed friendships with other dangerous Islamic extremists who were under watch by the government. Surprisingly, despite his connections with Islamic militants who were allegedly under heavy surveillance, Sterling claimed that Bouyeri managed to avoid being added to the "terror watch list."

Geert Wilders

During this time, Bouyeri also joined a militant Islamic group known as the Hofstad Network. Syrian-born geologist turned spiritual leader, Redouan al-Issar, 43, also known to use the alias "Abu Kaled," headed the group. Even though Bouyeri's first known act of terrorism in association with the Hofstad Network was the murder of Theo Van Gogh, it is believed that he and the group were also in the process of plotting even more assassinations. The group's suspected targets included Ayaan Hirsi Ali and right-wing conservative MP Geert Wilders who, according to an October 2004 Expatica.com article, is known to be "unashamedly anti-Islam."

Threatening Letters

At the time of Bouyeris arrest, he was found carrying an alleged suicide note, indicating that he probably expected to be martyred for his crime. The poem, titled Baptized in Blood reads as follows (Translation by N. Szalata, the Netherlands):

Baptized in Blood

This is then my last word...
Penetrated by bullets...
Baptized in blood
As I had hoped for

I leave a message
For you...the fighter...
The tree of Tawheed awaits you...
Yearning for your blood...
Accept the deal...
And Allah will not stand in your way...
He will give you the Garden
In place of the earthly ruin.

I also have a word to the enemy...
You will certainly come off badly...
Even if you go all over the world on Tour...
Death will be on the look out...
The Knights of Death are hard on your heels...
Who will color the streets Red.

To the hypocrites, I say this in conclusion...
Wish for death or else keep your mouth shut and...sit.

Dear brothers and sisters, I am near my end
But by this, the story is certainly far from over.

Flower memorial to Theo Van Gogh

Bouyeri also left a 5-page letter on Theos body, which threatened Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali and also mentioning several other Dutch political figures, including the Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen and Liberal parliamentary speaker Jozias van Artsen. Expatica.com reported in a November 5, 2004�article that the letter accused the Somali-born MP (Ayaan Hirsi Ali) of not only turning her back on the truth but also aligning herself with the forces of evil, which the letter indicated to be her Jewish masters and the government. The letter further threatened that she, along with the United States, Europe, The Netherlands and other non-believers of Islam were going to meet with disaster.

Letters by Bouyeri

According to Expatica.com, experts who examined the letter claim that its style indicated that it originates from an extremist Islamic group with links to terror network al-Qaeda. However, Bouyeris association to the infamous terror organization has not, as of yet, been officially confirmed. Since his capture, Bouyeri refuses to reveal information concerning the murder and his relationship with other Islamic fundamentalists. �

Police have conducted a search of BouyerisAmsterdam�apartment, confiscating his computers, videos and radical Islamic literature. Approximately four other houses were searched in connection to the murder. Police investigators have also arrested eight suspects believed to be linked to the Hofstad Network and involved in the murder plot. The alleged leader of the group, Redouan al-Issar, has since fled capture and his whereabouts remain unknown.

Two of the detained suspects were released several days after Theos murder due to lack of evidence. The other six suspects, all of whom are Islamic radicals of North African descent and aged between 19 and 27 years old, remain in custody, Anthony Deutsch reported in a November 6, 2004 AP article. Expatica.com wrote in November 4, 2004�that the Dutch intelligence service, AIVD, claimed that, the suspects were in contact with the brain behind the 16 May 2003Casablanca attacks, alleged to be Islamic extremist Abdeladim Akoudad.

Terrorist attack, Casablanca

The six suspects will be charged with conspiring to commit murder. Bouyeri faces up to six charges, including taking part in a criminal organization with terrorist characteristics, AP Worldstream reported. He will be prosecuted under the European Unions new terrorist laws. It is unclear when the trial will be scheduled yet it is expected to take place as early as spring/summer 2005.

Outrage and Sadness

The murder of Theo Van Gogh sparked a firestorm of outrage among citizens throughout theNetherlands. On the night of the brutal killing approximately 20,000 people gathered in centralAmsterdams Dam Square�to pay tribute to Theo and show support for freedom of speech by making noise for seven minutes. According to Expatica.com, the public came equipped with horns, drums, pots and pans and anything that could generate a racket, which they used to express their anger at the tragedy. The seven minutes of noise was followed by a two-minute vigil of silence. The massive turn out at the rally was evidence that the Dutch were not going to accept being bullied into keeping silent or accept the murder of those who speak their mind.

Rally in Amsterdam's Dam Square

Around the country, it became increasingly clear that tensions against the Muslim community were at their highest since the attacks on the World�Trade Center in September 2001. The tensions were mostly built on fear of more attacks and exacerbated by mounting prejudices against Islamic principles. Realizing this, the Muslim community was quick to condemn the murder and vowed to crackdown on militant extremists in their midst. However, the promises did little to quell the anger and fear of Dutch citizens, many of whom demanded that more be done to combat terrorism in their country.

In response, the government has taken steps to heighten security by increasing police presence on city streets, more closely monitoring those suspected to be militant extremists and tightening the security of key buildings, such as government institutions, foreign embassies and places of worship. Other more severe measures are being contemplated, such as revoking the Dutch nationality of violent offenders who have dual citizenship and closing mosques that advocate hate and violence. Moreover, the government has also initiated plans to facilitate communication between the Muslim community and local councils, help Muslim immigrants assimilate more effectively into Dutch society and provide more jobs for them, all in an effort to reduce the growing racial and religious tensions that threaten to divide the country.

However, not everyone was satisfied with the governments immediate response to the problem. In fact, many appeared to have lost faith in the system, which some complained spent more time wrangling and debating and less time actually following through on policy. According to an AP Worldstream article from November 10, 2004, a web site operated by Dutch broadcasters illustrated the current climate in the Netherlands when it revealed that 87% of those asked in a survey believed that politicians failed to sufficiently combat Islamic fundamentalism. The lethal combination of anger, fear and a growing distrust of the system eventually led some to take matters into their own hands.

An Eruption of Violence

Within the weeks following Theos murder, there were a multitude of violent eruptions, including incidents of vandalism and a series of vicious arson attacks throughout the country, most of which were aimed at the Muslim community. One of the more severe attacks occurred when a bomb was set off at an Islamic primary school in the town of Eindhoven. Luckily there were no injuries because the attack occurred in the early morning hours, yet the school was severely damaged.

Islamic School, bomb damage to front door

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Other Islamic schools and mosques located in Uden, Huizen, Zuilen, Breda, Groningen, Almere and Rotterdam were also vandalized and/or set ablaze by hooligans, some of which were apprehended by police and jailed. Almost all of the attacks were believed to have been direct retaliation for Theos murder and further aggravated by racial and religious discrimination against the Muslim community. The surge of violence sent shock waves through the country, evoking disbelief and outrage not only within the Muslim community, but also within mainstream Dutch society.

In counter response, arsonists attempted to burn down two Dutch Protestant churches in Utrechtand Amersfort with Molotov cocktails. Moreover, an Islamic fundamentalist group who calls itself al-Tawahid has threatened retribution against the Dutch government and citizens if the arson attacks and vandalism against Islamic institutions persist. Al-Tawahid demanded that inflammatory television programs that depict Muslims as terrorists should not be aired, otherwise the group warned it would commit terrorist attacks against the country, Radio Netherlands reported onNovember 8, 2004.

In the meantime, the Dutch government has since launched investigations into the attacks and increased round-the-clock police surveillance of Islamic buildings around the country. There are plans to implement additional safety measures to prevent further attacks. However, the authorities have complained that it is virtually impossible to permanently safeguard all Islamic structures because of a lack of resources.

Intolerance in the Land of "Tolerance"

Pim Fortuyn

The Netherlands, which prides itself for its tolerance has experienced in the last several years a radical change in its political climate concerning immigration policies and views on Islam. This change was most evident with the victory of maverick right-winger Pim Fortuyn, 54, who won an amazing 17 of the 45 seats in the 2002 Rotterdam�district council election. In fact, his newly formed party Lijst Pim Fortuyn was so ahead in the polls that Pim, a sociology professor, was slated to win at least 20 of the 150 seats in parliament during the 2002 May elections, which would have likely propelled him into the position of Prime Minister. What made Pims ascent in the political world so surprising was that he was unashamedly anti-immigration and considered Islam to be a backwards culture.�

However, Pim did not hold the pulpit long. On May 6, 2002, Dutch animal-rights activist Volkert van der Graaf shot and killed Pim outside of a Dutch radio station because he allegedly disagreed with his controversial stance on immigration. Pims death would mark the first political assassination in the Netherlands since 1672, when Dutch politician Johan de Witt was slain by a mob.

Assassin Volkert van der Graaf

Robert Wielaard suggested in a November 11, 2004 AP Worldstream article that in the immediate aftermath of the slaying, many Dutch assumed he had been killed for his anti-foreigner views, prompting an outpouring of rage aimed mostly at the Muslim minority but when they realized the culprit was a native Dutchman, the damage to racial harmony was already done. However, there are those who would view it differently. Some believe that the damage occurred well before Pim even took office and that pre-existing prejudices against immigrants and Muslims was what actually propelled him to such political heights in the first place. Yet, what is certain is that the tolerance wave that the Dutch have ridden on for so long is now in the process of leveling off.

Theo Van Gogh

The shifting political climate became more evident two years later, when a survey conducted by GPD regional newspapers after Theo Van Goghs murder found that 40% of Dutch people hope Muslims no longer feel welcome in the Netherlands, Expatica.com reported in a November 10^th article. The statistics were surprising, even to the average Dutch person. Needless to say, there is little wonder why many of the 1 million Muslims that live in the country feel widely discriminated against. It is a feeling that is surely reciprocated by many in the Muslim community, which leads some to question whether the racial and religious tensions will ever subside or simply continue to escalate.

The Terror Network

Dutch police near siege, The Hague

On November 10, 2004, residents of a neighborhood in The Hague were abruptly awakened by a series of explosions in the early morning hours. Not long afterwards, members of the marines Special Forces units cordoned off the area around Antheunisstraat. It was later revealed that the explosions came from hand grenades, which were detonated during an anti-terror raid on a house where armed Islamic militants were suspected to be hiding. According to Expatica.com, the raid was conducted as part of the investigation into Theo Van Goghs murder. The explosion seriously injured four officers but luckily caused no deaths. The raid eventually turned into a standoff that lasted most of the day as police tried to find a way to evict the alleged "terrorists" from a building with minimal harm to officers and area residents.

In response, a no-fly zone was introduced over the city, banning airplanes from flying lower than 700m above the ground and police snipers had taken position on rooftops in the neighborhood, Expatica.com reported on November 10^th. Moreover, ambulances, police squad cars and fire trucks crowded the streets to prevent people from entering the sealed off area. Residents were evacuated from the district and those who were deemed suspicious or knew information as to the identity of the suspects were held in police custody for questioning.

Finally at around 4 p.m., the police used tear gas to flush the suspects out of the house, which put an end to the nearly 14-hour siege. Sterling said in a November 14^th Associated Press article that approximately 13 Muslims, believed to have been associated with the Hofstad Network were arrested on terrorism charges. It is believed that the suspects, who include two young men with dual Dutch-American citizenship, are linked to other terror organizations including al-Qaeda.

One of those captured in The Hague siege was known to have connections with suspected terrorist Abdeladim Akoudad, who was arrested in Spain in 2003 for his alleged involvement in the al-Qaeda-funded suicide attacks in Casablanca earlier that year which killed 33 people. The suspect would be the second individual arrested in regard to Theos murder that had known links to Akoudad. The first person to be connected with Akoudad was a suspect of Spanish-Moroccan descent, who was detained in the beginning of November, 2004. Spanish and Dutch officials are working together to establish if the men, who were affiliated with the Hofstad Network, were associated in any way to the terrorists that carried out the Madrid train bombings, some of who were believed to have been members of al-Qaeda.

Madrid train bombing

To the surprise of many, the unfolding investigation revealed that the Netherlands appears to be a hot bed for terrorist activities. According to an Expatica.com article by Lesley Thomas, the Dutch security and intelligence service AIVD estimated that approximately 100 people in Hollandhave links to Islamic terror groups... Sterling stated that the Dutch government has been shadowing as many as 200 potential terrorists since the Sept. 11 attacks. In actuality, the numbers are likely far greater. What is for certain is that the number of people being inducted into extremists groups in the Netherlands is growing at an unprecedented rate, which leaves many wondering not if but when there will be another attack on their soil.

Death List Refuge

Soon after Mohammed Bouyeri's arrest, MP's Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders went into hiding, hoping to avoid a fate similar to Van Gogh. According to the death list found on Van Gogh's remains, they were next in line to be killed, followed by the names of other prominent Dutch citizens who openly criticized Islam. Even though Bouyeri and other members of the Hofstad Network terror cell had been arrested, the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD suspected that there were other group members still at large who could carry out the ritualistic slaughters of those on the list.

Consequently, Ali found temporary refuge at an American Marine base in Maine, where she remained under tight security for 75 days before returning to work in the Netherlands. When not at work, she spent most of her time shuffling between various safe places, including military bases and hotels, Marlise Simons reported in the New York Times. Wilders, like others on the list remained in the Netherlands under heavy guard but unlike the rest, he spent his evenings "deprived of friends and family" at the high security prison Camp Zeist.

Jermaine Walters

The security measures may have seemed drastic but in this case it was clearly a matter of life and death. New information found at the workplace of an alleged terror suspect identified as Jermaine Walters, 17, revealed a plot to murder Ali during New Year's 2005 celebrations. Jermaine was a roommate of Bouyeri and the brother of another Hofstad member, Jason Walters, who was arrested during the terror siege in The Hague after having allegedly thrown a hand grenade at a police officer, Expatica.com reported in a January 2005 article. Jermaine allegedly learned of Ali's whereabouts on the night in question from a 34-year-old Dutchman Othman Ben Amar. Surprisingly, Ben Amar worked for AIVD as an editor and interpreter for their Islamic Terrorism Centre, and allegedly leaked state secrets to Jermaine, as well as other Islamic extremists over the period of a year, Expatica.com said. Needless to say, both men were promptly arrested and are currently awaiting trial.