March 4, 2008: Remember the Danish cartoon controversy when a Danish newspaper published several images of the prophet Muhammad in September 2005? Now the Netherlands braces for the reaction from the Islamic world to the Dutch "movie controversy."

Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament from the city of Venlo on the Dutch-German border, pulls no punches when it comes to expressing his opinion on Islam. Wilders was raised a Roman Catholic, and he believes that the Netherlands should stick to its heritage as a nation with a Judeo-Christian tradition. In parliament he once said that the Koran should be banned in the Netherlands and that if Islam's holy book were to be stripped of passages proclaiming violence it would be reduced to the size of a "Donald Duck" comic book. Wilders says he has nothing against the people whose religion is Islam. Instead, his condemnation is directed only at their religion, which he does not consider to be a religion at all.

Wilders is making a movie for YouTube and his own website (now under construction) which will air his views about Islam. There have already been warnings from the Islamic world threatening Dutch business interests. In a type of pre-emptive retaliation a Dutch children's film was banned from being shown at an international film festival in Egypt. The Taliban have threatened to target Dutch soldiers serving as part of the NATO force in Afghanistan. Flight attendants on Dutch airline KLM have voiced concern for their safety on flights to Islamic countries if Mr. Wilders airs his movie. The Dutch minister for foreign aid canceled a trip to Somalia because of safety concerns.

In the Netherlands some view Geert Wilders as a right wing nationalist. Representatives of the Dutch government have tried to persuade him not to finish his film project, voicing concern for the safety of Dutch citizens worldwide. However, Mr. Wilders cites his right to freedom of speech and says he will not be intimidated into going silent on his view of Islam. His "Freedom Party" currently holds only nine seats in the Dutch parliament, but his views strike a responsive chord with many Dutch – and other Europeans, for that matter – concerned about growing Islamic influence in Europe and what sometimes appears to be an attempt by their governments to be overly "politically correct" in not offending Muslims.

If Geert Wilders finishes his movie project, the response from the Islamic world will likely overshadow the aftermath of the Danish cartoon controversy. Considering the assassination of Dutch movie producer Theo van Gogh in 2004, if anything happens to Mr. Wilders himself, anti-Muslim violence in the Netherlands is likely, similar to the reaction following van Gogh's death three years ago.