Dutch raise threat level ahead of anti-Koran film

By Emma Thomasson

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands raised its national risk level of a terrorist attack to "substantial" on Thursday ahead of the launch of a film by a right-wing politician that is expected to be critical of the Koran.

The Dutch counter-terrorism agency said in a report to parliament its new threat assessment was also influenced by arrests elsewhere in Europe that had thwarted attacks by groups directed or influenced by al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The threat level had been at "substantial" before as religious and racial tensions simmered after an Islamic militant killed director Theo Van Gogh in 2004 over a film he made accusing Islam of condoning violence against women.

The Dutch government has warned the latest film, expected to be released this month by populist Geert Wilders, might spark unrest and sanctions similar to those triggered when Danish newspapers published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad in 2006.

Wilders has given few details about the film he is calling "Fitna", an Arabic term used in the Koran and sometimes translated as "strife". He has called the Koran a "fascist" book that incites violence and said it should be banned.

The Dutch counter-terrorism agency said the way Islam was debated in the Netherlands had raised the profile of the country in Muslim countries, noting Islamist death threats against Wilders and calls to attack Dutch troops.

Afghan Taliban militants, backed by al Qaeda, have branded the recent reprinting of the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad and the Wilders' film part of a "Crusader war" against Muslims.

Afghan demonstrators angered by the cartoon and in anticipation of the film have demanded the expulsion of Danish and Dutch troops serving with NATO in its efforts to quell a Taliban-led insurgency.