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Prophet Muhammad Cartoons To Be Broadcast On Dutch TV

A far-right Dutch politician said cartoons of the prophet Muhammad were not shown on Dutch TV today as planned because of a "misunderstanding" with the network, but said the broadcast would go ahead at a later date.

Geert Wilders heads the Freedom Party and was a speaker at the Muhammad cartoon event in Garland, Texas, last month that was attacked by gunmen. He initially accused the television station of sabotage when Saturday's broadcast didn't go off as planned. It was supposed to be aired during a block of time allotted by law to every party in the Dutch parliament.

Later, Wilders acknowledged on Twitter: "It seems to have been a misunderstanding."

He confirmed that the broadcast was to go ahead on Wednesday.

"It will be like a walk [through] a museum – I will present the viewer a selection of the cartoons myself – first I will explain why I want to show the cartoons, because of what happened in Garland, Texas, and explain that it is not a provocation," Wilders was quoted by Breitbart London as saying.

The parliament had barred Wilders showing the cartoons in an exhibition, but he has posted them online.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.