Who is Geert Wilder, the Dutch lawmaker who supports Nupur Sharma

Geert Wilders said on Twitter that he received death threats from Muslims who want to kill him for “supporting Nupur Sharma”, who spoke "nothing but the truth about Prophet Muhammad and his wife Aisha".

Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders, who is known for his anti-Islam and anti-immigration views, has extended support to suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her controversial statements on Prophet Mohummad and his wife Aisha. He has been actively tweeting to show his support to Sharma, even calling her “heroic”.

Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders. (Reuters File Photo)

In one of the many posts he wrote on Twitter, Wilders stated, "It is ridiculous that Arab and Islamic countries are angered by Indian politician Nupur Sharma for speaking the truth about the Prophet who indeed married Aisha when she was six years old and consumed the marriage when she was nine."

“Why does India apologise,” he tweeted.

“Appeasement never works. It will only make things worse. So, my dear friends from India, don't be intimidated by Islamic countries. Stand up for freedom and be proud and steadfast in defending your politician Nupur Sharma who spoke the truth about Muhammad,” another tweet by Wilders read.

The Dutch lawmaker, who ran for the elections in the Netherlands in 2017 but was eventually defeated, said that Islamic countries have “no democracy, no rule of law (and) no freedom”. “They should be criticised. The ideology of Muhammad is offensive and abusive, not the heroic Nupur Sharma,” Wilders wrote in a post on the micro-blogging site.

Sharma came under the scanner along with former Delhi BJP media cell head Naveen Kumar Jindal for their statements on the Prophet. While she was suspended from the party's primary membership, Jindal was expelled.

India has been facing massive backlash from numerous west Asian nations, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Qatar over Sharma and Jindal's comments. The controversy has led to these Islamic countries calling out to boycott Indian products from their markets as a mark of protest. India, has however, issued statements clarifying that the views expressed on the Prophet were made by certain individuals and does not signify the Government of India. The statement by foreign ministry added that India respects all religions.

The controversy has now drawn the attention of global terror outfit Al-Qaeda in the Subcontinent (AQIS) that has threatened to carry out suicide bombings in Mumbai, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to “fight for the dignity” of the Prophet.

Wilders, however, has remained dauntless in his support for Sharma despite the threat. The Dutch lawmaker wrote on Twitter that one must never “give in to Islamic terrorists like Al-Qaida (since) they represent barbarism”.

“The whole Indian nation should rally around #nupursharma now and support her. Al Qaida and the Taliban put me on their hitlist years ago. One lesson: never bow for terrorists. Never!” the tweet added.

Wilders also shared an image of Sharma with the text “I support Nupur Sharma” on Twitter.

Wilders said he received many “death threats” from Muslims who want to kill him for “supporting Nupur Sharma” who “spoke the truth and nothing but the truth about Muhammad and Aisha”. “My message to them is: Go to hell. You have no morals. We stand for the truth. We stand for freedom," the post on the micro-blogging site further read.

With Wilders in the news once again for his anti-Islam views, here are some of highlights from his political career so far:

1. Born in 1963, Wilders is the founder of the Party for Freedom - the third-largest party in the Netherlands. He has been the party's leader in the House of Representatives since 1998.

2. Due to his views on Islam, he has been a talking point in many Islamist terrorist organisations. He has been under police security since 2004.

3. The Dutch supreme court last year upheld Wilders' conviction for discrimination after he insulted Moroccans at a local election rally in 2014. An appeals court had in 2020 agreed with a lower court ruling from 2016 which convicted the politician of the insult when he asked his supporters if they wanted fewer or more Moroccans in the European nation during the campaign rally.

4. During his campaign for the 2017 prime ministerial polls, Wilders had called for a ban on Islam's holy book Quran, equating it with Adolf Hitler's ‘Mein Kampf’. “I would rather not have the Quran at all as we in Holland at least have outlawed Mein Kampf as well,” he was quoted as saying by Euro News.

5. In April this year, Twitter suspended Wilders' account following his tweet mentioning Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that attacked Islam. The social networking giant took the action saying the Dutch politician violated its rules against hateful conduct. However, it was restored by the end of the month, with Wilders “suggesting” Twitter to “look into the thousands of tweets from people of Pakistan and anywhere else who threaten to kill” him because of his views about Islam, instead.