Dutch Politician Plans to Show Images of Prophet Mohammed on National Television

Dutch Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders announced on Wednesday that he will show images of the Prophet Mohammed from the Texas "Draw Mohammed" event last month on Dutch television.

Wilders, leader of the right-wing Freedom Party, said he would show the cartoons during his party's television airtime that political parties are given each year. He made the announcement after the Dutch parliament turned down the politician's request to host the exhibition.

The screening is expected to offend many Muslims, since Islamic tradition forbids any depictions of the Prophet Mohammed. The cartoons derive from the drawing event of the prophet in Garland, Texas where Wilder gave the keynote address. No exact date for the broadcast has been released, but Wilders said the images will be shown within the next few weeks.

The self-described Islam hater told the Associated Press that his reasoning for showing the images is to support those "who use the pen and not the sword."

"If we say, `it might be offensive, so let's not do it,' then we send a signal to the people who wanted to get into the event in Texas…and all their followers that it works, that we can be intimidated, that we get frightened," he said.

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The purpose of the prophet-drawing contest in Texas, according to organizers, was to exercise free speech, specifically after the deadly attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris in January.

"We are here in defiance of Islam," Wilders reportedly told people that attended. "Our Judeo-Christian culture is far superior to the Islamic one." The event was targeted by two gunmen right after Wilders left. The attackers were shot dead by the police.

Related: Two Gunmen Killed in Texas 'Draw Muhammad' Contest Attack Identified

Wilders has been under constant 24-hour supervision since 2004 for statements and actions that have provoked death threats. Several of Wilders' stunts have led to protests in the Islamic world, including a film he broadcasted, which placed Quranic verses side by side with videos of extreme violence and terrorism.

In 2011, Wilders was acquitted of hate speech and anti-Islam rhetoric with regards to a conversation concerning immigration and multiculturalism. He is facing prosecution again for evoking racial hatred against the Netherlands' Moroccan community during a chant last year when he asked supporters whether they wanted more or less Moroccans in the Netherlands. They shouted "fewer, fewer, fewer." In May, when the Netherlands' proposed a ban for the full-face veil for women in public places, Wilders told Dutch television that the move was "weak."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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