Theodoor "Theo" van Gogh (; 23 July 1957 – 2 November 2004) was a Dutch film director. He directed '' Submission: Part 1'', a short film written by Somali writer and politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali, which criticised the treatment of

women in Islam The experiences of Muslim women ( ''Muslimāt'', singular مسلمة ''Muslimah'') vary widely between and within different societies due to culture and values that were often predating Islam's introduction to the respective regions of the w ...

in strong terms. On 2 November 2004, he was

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

ed by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch-Moroccan Islamist who objected to the film's message. The last film Van Gogh had completed before his murder, '' 06/05'', was a fictional exploration of the assassination of Dutch politician

Pim Fortuyn Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn (; 19 February 1948 – 6 May 2002), was a Dutch politician, author, civil servant, businessman, sociologist and academic who founded the party Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn or LPF) in ...

. It was released posthumously in December 2004, a month after Van Gogh's death, and two years after Fortuyn's death.

Early life

Theodoor van Gogh was born on 23 July 1957 in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

to Anneke and Johan van Gogh. His father served in the Dutch secret service ( AIVD, then called BVD). He was named after his paternal uncle Theo, who was captured and executed while working as a resistance fighter during the

Nazi occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of '' Fall Gelb'' (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal f ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Theo van Gogh was a great-grandson of Theo van Gogh, an art dealer who was the brother of painter

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

Career

After dropping out of law school at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

, Van Gogh became a

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

. His self-proclaimed passion was filmmaking, and he made his debut as a director with the movie ''Luger'' (1981). He was awarded a '' Gouden Kalf'' for ''Blind Date'' (1996) and ''In het belang van de staat'' ("In the Interest of the State", 1997). For the latter, he also received a "Certificate of Merit" from the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

. As an actor, he appeared in the film, ''De noorderlingen'' ("The Northerners", 1992). He made numerous films (see below), many on political themes. From the 1990s, Van Gogh also worked in television. His last book (2003) was ''Allah weet het beter'' ("

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

Knows Best"), in which he strongly condemned

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. He was a well-known critic of Islam, particularly after the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

and the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. He supported the nomination of writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali for the Dutch parliament, who was elected. Born in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, she had immigrated to the Netherlands to escape an arranged marriage. She became a writer and liberal (former PvdA Labour Party) politician. In the 1980s, Van Gogh became a newspaper columnist. Through the years he used his columns to express his frustration with politicians, actors, film directors, writers and other people he considered to be part of "the establishment". He delighted in provocation and became a controversial figure, frequently criticising Islamic cultures. He used his website, ''De Gezonde Roker'' ("The Healthy Smoker"), to express harsh criticism of multicultural society. He said the Netherlands was so rife with social turmoil that it was in danger of turning into "something

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

-like".

''Submission''

Working from a script written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Van Gogh created the 10-minute short film ''

Submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

''. The movie deals with

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

in Islamic societies; it tells the stories of four abused Muslim women. The title, ''Submission'', is a translation of the word "

" into English. In the film, women's naked bodies, with texts from the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

written on them in henna, in an allusion to traditional wedding rituals in some cultures, are veiled with semi-transparent shrouds as the women kneel in prayer, telling their stories as if they are speaking to Allah. In August 2004, after the movie's broadcast on Dutch public TV, the newspaper ''De Volkskrant'' reported that the journalist Francisco van Jole had accused Hirsi Ali and Van Gogh of plagiarism, saying that they had appropriated the ideas of Iranian-American video artist

Shirin Neshat Shirin Neshat (; born March 26, 1957) is an Iranian photographer and visual artist who lives in New York City, known primarily for her work in film, video and photography. Her artwork centers on the contrasts between Islam and the West, femininit ...

, whose work used Arabic text projected onto bodies. Following the broadcast, both Van Gogh and Hirsi Ali received death threats. Van Gogh did not take the threats seriously and refused any protection. According to Hirsi Ali, he said, "Nobody kills the village idiot", a term he frequently used about himself.

Personal life

Van Gogh was a member of the Dutch Republican Society movement, which advocates the

abolition Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to: *Abolitionism, abolition of slavery *Capital punishment#Abolition of capital punishment, Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment *Abolitio ...

of the

monarchy of the Netherlands The monarchy of the Netherlands is governed by the country's charter and constitution, roughly a third of which explains the mechanics of succession, accession, and abdication; the roles and duties of the monarch; the formalities of communica ...

. He was a friend and supporter of the controversial Dutch politician

, who was

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

in 2002.

Murder

P1020978 bullet holes Mohammed Bouyeri - Theo van Gogh

At approximately 9 a.m. on the morning of 2 November 2004, Van Gogh was shot several times and had his throat slit while cycling to work. The perpetrator, 26-year-old Dutch-Moroccan citizen Mohammed Bouyeri, also injured some bystanders and left a note pinned to Van Gogh's stomach with a knife containing death threats to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who went into hiding. The note also threatened Western countries and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and referred to ideologies of the

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian organisation '' Jama'at al-Muslimin''. Bouyeri was apprehended by police after a chase. Authorities alleged that he had

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

ties with the Dutch Islamist Hofstad Network. He was charged with the

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

of several police officers and bystanders, illegal possession of a firearm, and conspiring to murder others, including Hirsi Ali. He was convicted at trial on 26 July 2005, and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

. The murder sparked outrage and grief throughout the Netherlands. Flowers, notes, drawings and other expressions of mourning were left at the scene of the murder.

Funeral

The

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

ceremony took place on 9 November. Fearing he might not survive a planned flight to New York, Van Gogh had spoken about his funeral wishes with friends shortly before his death. Maarten van Rossem was asked by Van Gogh's relatives to speak, something he found difficult in that he wanted to avoid sounding apocalyptic. Van Gogh's father suggested that his son would have liked the media attention provoked by his murder.

Aftermath

The day after the murder, Dutch police arrested eight people allegedly belonging to a group later referred to as the Hofstad Network. Six detainees were Dutch-Moroccans, one was Dutch- Algerian, and one had dual Spanish-Moroccan nationality. The Dutch Complaints Bureau for Discrimination on the Internet (MDI) received many complaints about websites allegedly praising the murder and making death threats against other people. At the same time, starting with four attempted

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

attacks on

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s in the weekend of 5–7 November, there were retaliatory violent incidents against Muslims, including a bomb that exploded at a Muslim school in

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

. The Dutch Monitoring Centre on Racism and

Xenophobia Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

recorded a total of 106 violent incidents in November against Muslim targets. The National Dutch Police Services Agency (KLPD) recorded 31 occasions of violence against mosques and Islamic schools between 23 November, and 13 March 2005. An arson attack destroyed a Muslim primary school in Uden in December 2004. By 8 November,

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

churches were reported as targets of vandalism and arson attacks in turn. A report for the Anne Frank Foundation and the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

, accounted for a total of 174 violent incidents between 2–30 November; it said that mosques were the target of violence 47 times, and churches 13 times. The murder widened and polarised the debate in the Netherlands about the social position of its more than one million Muslim residents. It also put the country's liberal tradition further into question, coming only two years after

's murder. In an apparent reaction against controversial statements about the

ic,

, and

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish religions—such as those Van Gogh had made—the Dutch Minister of Justice,

Christian Democrat Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian ethics#Politics, Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo ...

Piet Hein Donner, suggested Dutch

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

laws should either be applied more stringently or made more strict. The liberal D66 party suggested scrapping the blasphemy laws altogether.

Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing p ...

, at the time an independent member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, advocated a five-year halt to

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

from non-Western societies, saying: "The Netherlands has been too tolerant to intolerant people for too long. We should not import a retarded political Islamic society into our country". Wilders and Ayaan Hirsi Ali went into hiding for several weeks. Wilders has been under the protection of bodyguards ever since, and Hirsi Ali eventually relocated to the United States. Theo's son Lieuwe van Gogh claims he has been attacked on several occasions by young people of Moroccan and Turkish descent, and that the police did not provide him with help or protection. The police denied receiving any report of attacks.

Legacy and honours

On 18 March 2007, a

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

honouring Theo van Gogh, entitled '' De Schreeuw'' ("The Scream"), was unveiled in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. It is located in the Oosterpark, a short distance from where Van Gogh was murdered. A private trust, the Foundation for Freedom of Expression, was established to help fund protection for critics of Islam and Muslims.

Reactions

In the English-speaking world, controversy arose after Rohan Jayasekera's article on Van Gogh was published in ''

Index on Censorship Index on Censorship is an organisation campaigning for freedom of expression. It produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association wit ...

''. The Associate Editor of the magazine said that Van Gogh was a "free-speech fundamentalist" who had been on a "

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

operation roar nghis Muslim critics into silence with obscenities" in an "abuse of his right to free speech". Describing Van Gogh's film ''Submission'' as "furiously provocative", Jayasekera said his death was: Both left- and right-wing commentators criticised the article. In December 2004,

Nick Cohen Nicholas Cohen (born 1961) is a British journalist, author, and political commentator. He was previously a columnist for '' The Observer'' and is currently one for ''The Spectator''. Following accusations of sexual harassment, he left ''The O ...

of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' wrote: Cohen's account of the conversation was repudiated by the editor of the ''Index on Censorship'', who responded with a letter to ''

''.

Works

Books

* ''Engel'' ("Angel", 1990) * ''Er gebeurt nooit iets'' ("Nothing Ever Happens", 1993) * ''Sla ik mijn vrouw wel hard genoeg?'' ("Am I Beating My Wife Hard Enough?", 1996) * ''De gezonde roker'' ("The Healthy Smoker", 2000) * ''Allah weet het beter'' ("Allah Knows Best", 2003) * ''De tranen van Mabel'' ("Mabel's Tears", with

Tomas Ross Tomas Ross may refer to: * Tomas Ross (writer) * Tomas Ross (actor) * Tomas Ross (trial lawyer) See also * Thomas Ross (disambiguation) {{hndis, Ross, Tomas ...

, 2004)

Filmography

* ''Luger'' (1982) * ''Een dagje naar het strand'' ("A Day at the Beach", 1984) * ''Charley'' (1986) * ''Terug naar Oegstgeest'' ("Back to

Oegstgeest Oegstgeest () is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the western Netherlands. Its population was in . Etymology The portion ''geest'' in the name refers to the Geest, geest lands, which were excavated in the seventeent ...

", 1987) * ''Loos'' ("Wild", 1989) * ''Vals licht'' ("False Light", 1993) * ''Ilse verandert de geschiedenis'' ("Ilse Changes History", 1993) * '' 1-900'' (1994) * ''Reunie'' ("Reunion", 1994) * ''Eva'' (1994) * ''Een galerij: De wanhoop van de sirene'' ("A Gallery: The Siren's Despair", 1994) * ''De eenzame oorlog van Koos Tak'' ("Koos Tak's Lonely War", 1995) * '' Blind Date'' (1996) * ''Hoe ik mijn moeder vermoordde'' ("How I Murdered My Mother", 1996) * ''In het belang van de staat'' ("In the Interest of the State", 1997) * ''Au'' ("Ouch", 1997) * '' De Pijnbank'' ("The Rack", 1998) * '' Baby Blue'' (2001) * ''De nacht van Aalbers'' ("Aalbers's Night", 2001) * '' Najib en Julia'' (2002). A television play based on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', in which a white upper-class girl has an affair with a young pizza delivery man of Moroccan descent. * ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

'' (2003), a film in which a cynical journalist interviews an actress-cum-socialite. * ''Zien'' ("Seeing", 2004) * " Submission: Part 1" (2004). The first of a planned series. * ''Cool'' (2004), a film about young offenders, some of Moroccan descent, who play themselves. * '' 06/05'' (2004). A fact-based drama about the assassination of

. * ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

'' (2005). An adaptation of

Unfinished projects

* ''Bad'' (A "lesbian road movie"). Production was planned for 2005 * ''Duizend en één dag'' ("A Thousand and One Days"). A drama series about young Muslims struggling with their faith. Although this project had not even reached pre-production, Van Gogh had already found a broadcaster for the series: Dutch Muslim Broadcasting Organisation NMO.

Ancestry

Footnotes

Notes and references

#
Theovangogh.com
#
Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia, p. 78
('' European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia'') #
Golf van aanslagen sinds dood Van Gogh
(''Brabants Dagblad'') # Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia, pp. 78–79 #
Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey, p. 7
(''

Open Society Institute Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

– EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program'') #
Ontwikkelingen na de moord op van Gogh, p. 3
(''Anne Frank Stichting; Universiteit Leiden'') # (originally from ''Index on Censorship'') #
Censor and sensibility
(''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'') #
Letters to the Editor – Free to Speak
(''The Guardian'')

References

External links