[Undertoad]

Austin Bay quotes bits out of a NY Times story on the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by Islamists. Why do they hate us? They don't really, emphasis mine:

Breaking a self-imposed silence that had confounded court officials here, a young Muslim man coolly accepted responsibility Tuesday for the brutal slaying of a controversial Dutch filmmaker, adding that he would do it all over again if given the chance.

Shaken by the horrific death of the filmmaker, Theo van Gogh, the Dutch heard for the first time Tuesday the voice of his assailant, who spoke of the murder in the same matter-of-fact manner in which some witnesses say it was executed.

Bicycling to work last Nov. 2, Mr. van Gogh was shot at least six times before having his throat cut.

The defendant, Muhammad Bouyeri, the 27-year-old son of Moroccan immigrants, showed no remorse, saying he had killed Mr. van Gogh based on his religious beliefs.

“I acted out of conviction and not out of hate,” Mr. Bouyeri told the court. “If I’m ever released, I’d do the same again. Exactly the same.”

He added his actions were based on “the law that instructs me to chop off the head of everyone who insults Allah or the prophet.”

Mr. van Gogh - along with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born Dutch politician - received death threats after their short but provocative film about abuse of Muslim women was broadcast last year on Dutch television.

Mr. van Gogh once compared fundamentalist Muslims to practitioners of bestiality. He had also written a book, “Allah Knows Better,” that was critical of Islam.

Mr. Bouyeri, who mentioned Mr. van Gogh’s expletive involving animals in court, said he chose his victim because he had insulted God, not because he had offended Muslims.

“As a Moroccan, I never felt offended,” said Mr. Bouyeri, who has passports from both the Netherlands and Morocco.