Geert Wilders to show cartoons of Prophet Mohamed after he's denied by Dutch parliament

The Dutch politician will use the airtime that is reserved for political parties to show the cartoons as they cannot be censored

Geert Wilders says he plans to show cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed on Dutch television airtime reserved for political parties after Parliament refused to display them. (Jens Meyer/ AP)

The Dutch politician Geert Wilders has announced he plans to show cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed on Dutch television.

The anti-Islam lawmaker has said that he will show the cartoons on airtime reserved for political parties, after parliament refused to display them.

The move is likely to offend Muslims who believe that any physical depiction of the prophet is blasphemous.

Broadcasting authorities have no power over what political parties show during airtime reserved for them with Mr Wilders confirming that the broadcast will happen in the next few weeks.

The announcement comes a month after a deadly attack on a contest to draw the Prophet Mohamed at an event in Garland, Texas, where Mr Wilders gave a speech.

The event was targeted by two men wielding assault rifles and handguns, just after Mr Wilders had left.

Mr Wilders has lived under 24-hour supervision since 2004 due to death threats and in 2011 was acquitted of hate speech, although is again facing prosecution for a chant allegedly he led with supporters.

He said: “If we say ‘it might be offensive, so let’s not do it,’ then we send a signal to the people who wanted to get into the event in Texas… that we can be intimidated, that we get frightened.”

Mr Wilders has previously caused outrage and protests in the Muslim world for a short, online film which showed verses of the Quran next to images of extreme violence and terrorism.

Additional Reporting: AP