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[[Same sex marriage]] has been recognized by the Dutch government since 2001.<ref>[http://marriage.about.com/cs/samesexmarriage/a/samesex.htm About.com]</ref> Furthermore, legal [[prostitution]], [[euthanasia]], [[abortion]] and its drug policy (see above) make The Netherlands the most liberal country in the world by most standards. Religion was once the dominant factor in Dutch society and politics, but since the 1970s plays a secondary role in society, with only 9% of the population being [[Protestant]] (2009) and just under 30% are [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]]. There is, however, a rising [[Muslim]] population (4%) which has caused social strains. An overall decline in religion can be seen as of 2004. These days The Netherlands are considered one of the least churchgoing countries in Europe.
[[Same sex marriage]] has been recognized by the Dutch government since 2001.<ref>[http://marriage.about.com/cs/samesexmarriage/a/samesex.htm About.com]</ref> Furthermore, legal [[prostitution]], [[euthanasia]], [[abortion]] and its drug policy (see above) make The Netherlands the most liberal country in the world by most standards. Religion was once the dominant factor in Dutch society and politics, but since the 1970s plays a secondary role in society, with only 9% of the population being [[Protestant]] (2009) and just under 30% are [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]]. There is, however, a rising [[Muslim]] population (4%) which has caused social strains. An overall decline in religion can be seen as of 2004. These days The Netherlands are considered one of the least churchgoing countries in Europe.
==Politics==
Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpɪm fɔrˈtœyn]; February 19, 1948 – May 6, 2002) was a Dutch politician, civil servant, sociologist, author and professor who formed his own party, Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn or LPF).
Fortuyn was the centre of several controversies for his views about immigrants and Islam. He called Islam "a backward culture", and said that if it were legally possible he would close the borders for Muslim immigrants. He was labelled a far-right populist by his opponents and in the media, but he fiercely rejected this label and explicitly distanced himself from "far-right" politicians such as the Belgian Filip Dewinter, the Austrian Jörg Haider, or Frenchman Jean-Marie Le Pen whenever compared to them. While Fortuyn compared his own politics to centre-right politicians such as Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, he also admired former Dutch Prime Minister Joop den Uyl, a socialist. Fortuyn however repeatedly described himself and LPF's ideology as pragmatism and not populism. Fortuyn was openly homosexual and intellectual.
Fortuyn was assassinated during the 2002 Dutch national election campaign by leftwing activist Volkert van der Graaf, who claimed in court he had murdered Fortuyn to stop him from exploiting Muslims as "scapegoats" and targeting "the weak members of society" in seeking political power. Volkert van der Graaf had made a career as a lawyer with harassing farmers as much as possible for enviromental organisations.
Geert Wilders (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣeːrt ˈʋɪldərs]; born 6 September 1963) is a politician and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), the third leading political party in the Netherlands. Born in the city of Venlo, raised as a Roman Catholic and having left the Church at his coming of age, Wilders attributes his politics to his support for what he calls 'Judeo-Christian values'. He formed many of his political views on his travels to Israel, as well as the neighbouring Arab countries. His early job at the Dutch social insurance agency propelled him into politics, where he worked as a speechwriter for the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). In 1996, he moved to the city of Utrecht, where he was elected to the city council and later to the House of Representatives of the Netherlands.
Citing irreconcilable differences over the party's position on the accession of Turkey to the European Union, Wilders left the VVD in 2004 to form his own party, the Party for Freedom. Since then, he has been outspoken on a number of issues such as immigration, freedom of speech, and Islam, not only in The Netherlands, but also on an international scale, where he became one of the proponents of anti-jihadism.
Wilders has pleaded, for instance, for a hard line against what he called the "street terror" exerted by minorities in Dutch cities. His controversial 2008 film about Islam in the Netherlands, Fitna, has received international attention. On 21 January 2009, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ordered his prosecution for what it said was "the incitement to hatred and discrimination". Wilders was also controversially banned from entering the United Kingdom between 12 February 2009 and 13 October 2009, with the Home Office viewing his presence as a "threat to one of the fundamental interests of society". The ban was overturned after Wilders appealed. He visited the UK on 16 October 2009,[9] and again in March 2010, to show his film.
In March 2010, it was announced that a documentary film about Geert Wilders was due to be released in the United States; Wilders himself was writing a book and producing a sequel to his film, both to be released after the parliamentary elections in the Netherlands in June 2010. Wilders' gains toward becoming next Dutch prime minister according to polls in March 2010 have triggered concerns of political violence in the Netherlands or against Dutch nationals according to the country’s National Anti-terrorism Coordinator.
Wilders policies against Islam have him labeled as extreem-right, but his economic policies are fairly left wing.
==History==
==History==