Dutch film director Theodoor van Gogh, the great-grandson of Vincent van Gogh’s brother, was murdered on this day five years ago by a muslim extremist, Mohammed Bouyeri. Early in the morning, van Gogh was riding his bicycle to work when he was ambushed by Bouyeri, who shot him eight times with a hand gun, then cut his throat and left a note on his body threatening Jews, western governments, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Van Gogh was murdered because he had worked with Ayaan Hirsi Ali to create a movie, Submission, which was about violence against women in Islamic societies. Hirsi Ali was a muslim from Somalia who obtained political asylum in the Netherlands, renounced Islam, and then became a politician, being elected to the Dutch parliament. Since the death of van Gogh, Hirsi Ali has been living under police protection.
Mohammed Bouyeri is a second-generation migrant from Morocco, who became known to Dutch police at an early age as one of a number of Moroccan trouble makers. He failed to graduate after spending five years in tertiary education. After the September 11 attacks and the invasion of Iraq he became an Islamic radical, grew a beard and wore a Moroccan robe. He became a member of a Dutch terrorist cell, and believed he was fulfilling his duty as a muslim by murdering van Gogh. He has been imprisoned for life without parole.