Anti-Koran film launched on the internet by Dutch MP

The right-wing Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders has posted a film on the internet accusing the Koran of inciting violence, despite government fears that it will offend Muslims and cause protests. The film was posted on his Freedom Party's Web site (www.pvv.nl) but could be watched only briefly before the website said it was not available for technical reasons.

The 15-minute film, called Fitna, a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife", started with a warning that it contains "very shocking images". It interspersed images of the 9/11 attacks and other bombings with quotes from the Koran.

The Dutch government has distanced itself from Mr Wilders' views and fears repercussions from Muslims similar to those after publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed in Danish newspapers in 2006.

Before seeing the film, demonstrators from Afghanistan to Indonesia have already taken to the streets to express their anger at the Netherlands, and the governments of Pakistan and Iran have sharply criticised the project.

The film shows a young girl in a headscarf talking of Jews and saying, "They are apes and pigs", and Muslim women with banners reading, "Be prepared for the real Holocaust" and "God Bless Hitler".

Wilders has been under heavy guard because of Islamist death threats since the murder in 2004 of the Dutch director Theo van Gogh, who made a film critical of Islam's treatment of women.