Assassination
On November 2, 2004, Theo van Gogh was assassinated in public by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch-Moroccan Muslim with a Dutch passport. A letter, stabbed through and affixed to the body by a dagger, linked the murder to Van Gogh's film and his views regarding Islam. It was addressed to Ayaan Hirsi Ali and called for a jihad against kafir (Kafir is a disbeliever or infidel), against America, Europe, the Netherlands, and Hirsi Ali herself. Following the murder of Van Gogh, tens of thousands gathered in the center of Amsterdam to mourn Van Gogh's death. There were fire-bombings of mosques and Muslim schools, and counterattacks against Christian churches. Besides Bouyeri, eleven other Muslim men were arrested and charged with conspiracy to assassinate Hirsi Ali.
After the murder of Theo van Gogh, Submission gained international fame. It was withdrawn from the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film had been scheduled to be shown on Sunday during a discussion on freedom of speech in film at the festival. Because of the violent murder of Van Gogh, the producer of Submission, Gijs van de Westelaken, said, "We do not want to take any chance of endangering anyone else who participated in the film." The film was shown on television in three European countries.
Hirsi Ali has stated she would like to make a sequel to the movie because "By not making 'Submission Part II,' I would only be helping terrorists believe that if they use violence, they're rewarded with what they want." When asked if she would submit to threats against her life, she said "Not me."
Read more about this topic: Submission (2004 Film)