Dear Geert Wilders,

I would like to talk to you about my perspective of the Netherlands, from where I live, the United States. Many people in my country share your opinion about Islam. This summer, media outlets were saturated with debate over the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’. The issue sparked an irrational fear of Islam and put an unfair scrutiny on every American Muslim.

While I love the people of my country, I often find myself sickened by how intolerant many of them are. On the contrary, my view of Netherlands is that it is mostly a tolerant and open country. Before my arrival here, I was excited about living in a place that was, overall, accepting of people with varying lifestyles. Then, just weeks before my departure, my boss, a Islam-fearing individual like yourself, sent me the transcript of a speech you delivered in America. You warned my country that it would fall victim to Islamic ideals, like much of Europe, if it did not prepare to combat its influence. At the time, I was unfamiliar with who you are. I was shocked to hear such intolerance spoken and written by a Dutch citizen. I realized that, because of your anti-Islamic message, you have become one of the most recognizable Dutchmen in America.

In the past, you have proposed ridding the Netherlands of much of its Muslim population. By attempting to close your borders to people of a certain religion, whether extremists or not, you are destroying a fundamental right established by Western culture. Your increasing popularity will only establish an unfavorable, and even inaccurate, opinion of your country if you continue to handle the problem of Islamic extremists in this way. I wish for you to solve this problem, not by hatred and intolerance but with rationality and understanding, traits which I expect from a citizen of the Netherlands.

[Daniel Caponetti (19) from the United States is a bachelor student in the Tilburg School of Economics and Management]

_Advertentie.