Murder In Amsterdam Reaction

In Murder in Amsterdam, Buruma gives and interesting, thought-provoking and complex account of the events that led up to the murder of Theo Van Gogh and the people involved. It is an excellent account of a clash of cultures in Europe because of an immigrant population that is not integrated into Dutch society. He uses the murder of the unfiltered van Gogh by radical Islamist, Mohammed Bouyeri to ask questions about tolerance and freedom of speech. I believe that his murder was inevitable but unjustified. Even in such extreme cases with obvious repercussions I stand by van Gogh's freedom of speech. Someone was going to  end van Gogh's life because of how angry he made the Muslim population with his movie, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be allowed to make it. This is something especially interesting since it is set in Holland, which has been viewed as an incredibly tolerant and enlightened region throughout history. Yet, the new immigrant population is giving the land of the "red light district" toleration problems. I enjoyed reading and discussing this book in class because of how complex and controversial the issue is. From the perspective of an American, we value the freedom of speech and religion and before reading this book it was clear to me that these freedoms were absolute and untouchable. However, this book gave me doubts about this idea. I think the most important idea that Buruma leaves is that tolerance is much more complex and difficult than it sounds and is certainly not a black and white idea.