Did anyone happen to read the article in last week's New Yorker about the murder of Dutch filmmaker-cum-political-gadfly Theo van Gogh by a deranged young Muslim man? About how the Dutch tradition of "tolerance" has been thrown into question?

I was reminded of how, when Pym Fortuyn was assassinated, the American press described him as a "right-wing" politician. The idea of a right-winger who was also a "flamboyant," openly gay man must have seemed confusing to many Americans, including myself. I still don't think I have a handle on Dutch politics, but my sense of it is this:

The "Left": believes (naively, some think) that the Dutch tradition of social welfare, social tolerance, gender equality, gay rights, minority rights, etc., can co-exist with a large immigrant Muslim population, some of whom are fundamentalists.

The "Right": believes that the Dutch tradition of social welfare, social tolerance, gender equality, gay rights, minority rights, etc., cannot co-exist with a large immigrant Muslim population, some of whom are fundamentalists, because those fundamentalists don't believe in social equality for women, gays, etc. They want fewer Muslims in the country, precisely because they think Muslims are intolerant.

In other words, the difference between the Left and Right and Holland is only a matter of immigration law and civil rights for Muslim immigrants. The larger consensus about what Dutch "values" are isn't even in question--only the degree to which you think those values are being threatened by religious (Muslim) fundamentalists.

I could practically choke on the ironies when you compare this to the American situation, where you have religious fundamentalists (Christians) waging all-out war on both the country's liberal traditions and religious fundamentalists who are non-Christian (i.e., Muslim).

What must the Europeans think of our Christian Right's rhetorical association of liberals with terrorists? Do average Europeans even know who is running this country, and what their agenda is?