Dutch Muslims appeal for calm abroad after anti-Islam film

"We want to let our Muslim brothers abroad know that we are in the best position to analyse the situation in the Netherlands and Wilders and to how to react," said the head of the Dutch Moroccan National Council, Mohamed Rabbae.

"We call on them to follow our strategy and not react with attacks on Dutch embassies or tourists," he added, speaking at a joint press conference of Muslim community leaders at an Amsterdam mosque.

"An attack on the Netherlands is an attack on us," Rabbea said. "We feel offended by the link between violence and Islam but we know this guy (Wilders). The best response is a response in a responsible manner."

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who condemned Wilders film shorlty after it was put on the Internet on Thursday, praised the Dutch Muslim organisations for the "dignified way" they have reacted to it.

Symbolically the Dutch joint press conference of Dutch Muslim organisations and religious leaders was held in the Elouma mosque in Amsterdams Slotervaart. It was in this neighbourhood, with a very high immigrant population, that Dutch Muslim radical Mohammed Bouyeri grew up

In 2004 Bouyeri shot and stabbed columnist and filmmaker Theo van Gogh who had directed a short film critical of Islams treatment of women. Official figures from 2006 put the number of Dutch Muslims at 850,000, or five percent of the overall population. Most Dutch Muslims, 38 percent, are of Turkish descent, while Moroccans make up 31 percent.

In Slotervaart on Friday only the many journalists congregating near the mosque broke the calm. Two neighbourhood social workers passing on bikes told AFP everything was normal. "Most people didnt even see the film," they added.

The film "Fitna" ("Discord" in Arabic), featuring violent imagery of extremist attacks which it linked to verses from the Koran, was posted on the British-based website liveleak.com on Thursday.

Muslim countries on Friday condemned the video and the Islamic government of Iran said the film showed some Westerners were waging a "vendetta" against Islam, warning of unspecified repercussions.

A coalition of Jordanian media said they would take Wilders to court over the film and launch a campaign to boycott Dutch products. They urged Arab leaders to review ties with Denmark and the Netherlands.

In Karachi, Pakistans largest city, about 40 supporters of the hardline Islamist party Jamaat-i-Islami protested, chanting "Death to the filmmaker" and demanding Pakistans government sever diplomatic ties with The Netherlands.

In the Netherlands the film was met with a sense of relief when it appeared not as harsh as some people had expected. There were fears that Wilders would destroy a copy of the Koran but that did not happen.

As they have done in the months preceding the broadcast of the film the Dutch government on Friday concentrated on damage control to minimise possible retaliation. The Dutch ministers for justice and integration met with immigrant and religious organisations in The Hague to discuss their feelings.

Prime Minister Balkenende had already tried to defuse the situation Thursday by issuing a statement condemning the film which he said "equates Islam with violence. We reject that interpretation." During the press conference in Slotervaart, Rabbea said he was pleased with the governments statement. "It clearly says that the opinion of Wilders is not that of the Netherlands," he explained.