Today
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I remember that morning clearly. The news of Theo van Gogh‘s murder spread like a shock wave through the Netherlands. I sat in front of the TV and couldn’t believe this could happen in our country. A filmmaker, shot dead and then stabbed with a knife, in the middle of the street in Amsterdam. Because he spoke his mind.
Now, twenty years later, I often think about what Van Gogh taught us. He was no saint – far from it. I was regularly annoyed by his coarse language and his provocations. But he did stand for something: the right to say what you think, no matter how uncomfortable it is.
“A society that cannot protect its critics is not worth a punch,” he once wrote. I think those words are more important now than ever. Because what I saw happen in the years after his death scared me. I saw the fear creep in. How people came to distrust each other. How mosques were defaced and Muslims were verbally abused.
I still see the consequences. When I talk to my Muslim friends, I hear how tired they are of constantly having to defend themselves. How they are viewed regarding the actions of extremists with whom they have nothing to do. That’s exactly what I think Van Gogh didn’t want. He fought ideas, not people.
That film he made with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, ‘Submission’, was controversial. I understand why people got angry about it. But what I also understand: sometimes you have to sand and shake to start a discussion. However, there is a difference between criticizing ideas and dismissing an entire group of people.
What I learned from Theo? That you have to dare to say what you think. But also that freedom of expression is a great asset that you must use wisely. It’s like a sharp knife: it can help reveal important things, but it can also unnecessarily injure people.
When I follow the news and read the newspapers, the same question always arises: what would Theo think of the Netherlands in 2024? Of the fear that still haunts you? Of the hatred of Islam that affects innocent people? Of the people who use his death to create hatred and division.
Theo van Gogh was not perfect. He was rude, direct, uncompromising and insulting. But he believed in something important: that in a free society you should be able to say what you think. Now it’s up to us to show that we can do that without falling into the hatred and fear that cost him his life.
