...yesterday morning I found this piece of goat skin by the sea. It has intricate signs on it, Arabic I guess. The writing is not affected at all by the sea water. I’d appreciate if anybody could let me know what it says. I guess it's an Al'Qaeda message...

Fitna (فتنة ) is an Arabic word, generally regarded as very difficult to translate. It is often used to refer to civil war, disagreement and division within Islam and specifically alludes to a time involving trials of faith.

Fitna is a short film by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders. The film explores Qur'anic motivation for terrorism, Islamic universalism, and Islam in the Netherlands. The movie shows a selection of Suras from the Qur'an, interspersed with newspaper clippings and media clips.

The movie starts with a warning, stating that the movie contains "very shocking images". During the title screen, a book is subsequently opened that resembles the Qur'an. A page in the book contains a cartoon from the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, showing the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb on his head. Next to the cartoon, a timer starts counting down from 15 minutes

The first Sura is introduced, accompanied with Qur'anic recital and English subtitles.

Suras are juxtaposed to video clips of Imams stating Islamic teaching, and videos of violent atrocities committed in the name of Islam. The source for the English translations is unstated.

Al-Anfal, the first Sura of the film, is translated as: "Prepare for them whatever force and cavalry ye are able of gathering, to strike terror, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies, of Allah and your enemies." Footage of 9/11 is shown, followed by the Madrid train bombings. An Imam declares, "Allah is happy when non-muslims get killed."

The next Sura, An-Nisa, is shown as a justification for Islamic antisemitism. An Imam raising a sword declares: "A Jew is hiding behind me, come and cut off his head. And we shall cut off his head! By Allah, we shall cut it off! Oh Jews! Allahu Akbar! Jihad for the sake of Allah!" An auditorium of several hundred people respond with approving chants and fist shaking.

Following this, a three year old Muslim girl, named Basmallah, calls Jews "apes and pigs" during an interview on Saudi Arabian television channel, Iqra TV[6]. More antisemitism is shown by another Imam, who states: "The Jews are Jews. They are the ones who must be butchered and killed." Child soldiers are shown uniformed and holding guns.

Still pictures of demonstrators holding banners declaring "God Bless Hitler" and "Be Prepared For the Real Holocaust" are shown.

Sura 47, Verse 4 is shown in relation to the murder of Theo Van Gogh, committed by Mohammed Bouyeri. Bouyer is reported as saying: "If I had the opportunity to get out of prison, and I had the opportunity to do it again, what I did on November 2nd, Allah I would have done exactly the same." Protesters are shown supporting Van Gogh's murder, warning others to heed lessons or "pay with your blood".

Dutch newspaper headlines are reproduced, outlining intimidating threats of murder to prominent questioners of Islam, followed by footage of Jack Hensley's beheading. Hensley's decapitated head is shown held up by Al-Qaeda terrorists.

Sura 4 is heard, and is used to demonstrate Islam's Ummah ideal. The Sura is translated here as: "They but wish that ye should reject faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing as they, so take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah. But if they turn renegades, seize them and kill them wherever ye find them, and take no friends or helpers from their ranks." This is shown through a Vox pop: "If someone converts to Christianity, he deserves the death penalty."

An Imam declares: "Islam is (more) superior than the Jews, than the Christians, than the Buddhists, than the Hindus. The only (law) Allah accepts is Islam."