The Lights Are Going Out All Over Europe

Geert Wilders is a Dutch politician, a member of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom (a right-wing populist party). Mr. Wilders is well known in his home country for his strong criticism of Islam, having stated at various times that “Islamic ideology has to be defeated” and “there is no such thing as ‘moderate Islam,'” summing up his views by saying, “I don’t hate Muslims, I hate Islam” and advocating that the Netherlands ban the Quran, Islamic dress, and the further immigration of Muslims to that country.

The item referenced above is the text of a speech on the topic of Islam delivered by Mr. Wilders at the Four Seasons in New York, during a lunch sponsored by the Hudson Institute on 25 September 2008 (and commonly titled “America as the Last Man Standing” or “The Lights are Going Out All Over Europe” in Internet circulation).

In 2010-11 Geert Wilders was put on trial in the Netherlands, charged with five counts of inciting racial hatred over his anti-Islamic public statements. He was acquitted in June 2011.