April 1, 2008 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — UK-based video hosting provider LiveLeak (liveleak.com) announced on Monday that it has removed Geert Wilders’ anti-Koran documentary after receiving several complaints and threats.
LiveLeak says that “Fitna,” which is believed to mean chaos or strife in Arabic, was seen by more than three million visitors before being pulled off its website. According to reports by The Register (theregister.co.uk), “Fitna” has gone viral since its removal on LiveLeak, with ripped versions even appearing on mainstream video sites like YouTube.
LiveLeak is known to allow controversial and uncensored clips of war, conflict and death, on its website and says it has a “strict stance on remaining unbiased and allowing freedom of speech within the boundaries of law.”
However, after receiving several threats of an undetermined nature, the video hosting provider removed the documentary because of security concerns. Last week, Network Solutions, the hosting provider that the movie’s website was originally being promoted on, distanced itself from Wilders as well after receiving complaints about the website’s content.
According to The Washington Post, LiveLeak had this statement written next to Wilders’ video: “There was no legal reason to refuse Geert Wilders the right to post his film on LiveLeak.com and it is not our place to censor people based on an emotive response. To many of us involved in LiveLeak.com some of the messages therein are personally offensive…Our being offended is no reason to deny Mr. Wilders the right to have his film seen.”
Although Dutch government officials say there hasn’t been as much protest as expected with the release of the film, reports from numerous sources show that the film hasn’t gone unnoticed in other parts of the world.
The European Union issued a statement on Saturday saying the film served no other purpose than to inflame hatred and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon condemned the film, calling it offensively anti-Islamic.
In the Middle East, Iran has summoned the Dutch ambassador to Tehran to discuss the film while Jordanian lawmakers have taken more severe diplomatic measures by demanding their government cut ties with the Netherlands. Protests were also said to have occurred in Pakistan and Indonesia, where people demonstrated outside the Dutch embassy in Jakarta calling Wilders a “Christian terrorist,” according to The Register.
The 15-minute film is said to have verses from the Koran juxtaposed with graphic videos of bombing victims, the 9/11 attacks and the beheading of a man by masked gunmen.
