This statement tells me they have already fallen. The wording about democracy is in the past tense and the wording regarding islam is in the present tense. The setback is not too islam, but to democracy, at least if democracy still existed there. The author whether intentionaly or not is telling us the country is the Islamic Republic of the Neatherlands.
Ambassador Boudewijn van Eenennaam
Minister Wim Geerts
Coordinator Management & General Affairs USA Wim Henskens Political Counselor Caspar Veldkamp Minister René van Hell Counselor Simon van der Burg Counselor Jeanne Wikler
was@minbuza.nl;was-plvcdp@minbuza.nl;was-az@minbuza.nl;was-pa@minbuza.nl;was-ea@minbuza.nl;was-scc@minbuza.nl;was-scc@minbuza.nl;nyc-pcz@minbuza.nl
Honorable Ambassador, Counselors, and Minister of the Netherlands:
It is with great distress and disappointment that I've read of the domestic problems lately endured by your Parlimentarian Ms. Hirsi Ali.
There is no need to recount Ms. Ali's history, her political positions, or her current difficulties. You, and we - the free world - know what those are.
What is most disappointing is that Ms. Ali cannot find refuge and safety in what many consider to be the world's most tolerant culture: that of the Netherlands. Her current detractors in your Parliament and in (for example) your Immigration Ministry are making clear what the cost of Dutch "tolerance" actually is: silence.
It is probably best that Ms. Ali be silenced in a land where her voice is unprotected by the Dutch government and is bound to see her killed by religious fanatics. We are happy to have Ms. Ali join us in America, where she will be able to speak and write freely and without fear for her safety. The Netherlands will be free to return to the illusion of "tolerance" and "multiculturalism."
I think it appropriate that the U.S. government grant Ms. Ali refugee status from a Dutch government which cannot or will not protect her freedoms from the cult of murderers and maniacs which now inhabit your country.
My wife and I have airline tickets purchased some time ago, to visit Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum this summer, as well as several other European countries.
But your government's treatment of Ms. Hirsi Ali is repellent to our views of freedom and liberty, and indeed a shocking refutation of Dutch tolerance. For that reason, we will be cancelling our tickets to the Netherlands, and we do not expect to include your country in any travel plans for the forseeable future.
Respectfully,