Geert Wilders Announces New Group: Few Details, Lots of Headlines

As is being widely reported, Geert Wilders has announced his intention to create a new anti-Islamic group, since presumably there’s not enough of those around just now. A report in the Nederlands Dagblad appears to have the most backgroun detail. It’s to be called the “International Freedom Alliance” (according to some reports, the ” Geert Wilders International Freedom Alliance”) and it will promote a “Jewish- Christian- humanist” constitution. He’s going to visit five countries, “the United States, Canada , Britain , Germany and France”, and – this should make all the difference – set up a website.

Further (this is a tidied-up Google translation):

…Wilders said he would be “only one of many founders “. What other anti-Islam activists are behind the initiative, he will not say: “I hope to announce in December”.

Wilders suggested the grouping for the first time  in early 2009. A conference in Israel on this subject was subsequently canceled… “In Israel, elections were being held then. It was not practical.”

Links with “Danish politician Pia Kjaersgaard and Italian Umberto Bossi” are mentioned, although the report notes that that their countries are not included in his list of five. Although this may look like a vehicle for Wilders (assuming its anything more than just a publicity stunt), he assures us that “It is not Freedom Party International”, but a wider umbrella.

Wilders’ attempts at a “Christian-humanist” anti-Islamic front have not been entirely successful. As I blogged here at the time, back in March Wilders backed out from attending the Los Angeles premiere of a documentary about him made by the Christian Action Network, after it became impossible to downplay the fact that CAN’s director, Martin Mawyer, was an abusive homophobe (The event’s organisers, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, quickly tried to limit the damage: they cancelled the screening and purported not to have known about Mawyer’s virulent anti-gay views).

(Hat tip: Unite Against Fascism)