AMSTERDAM (AFP) - Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh, who recently made a controversial film about Islam, was shot and stabbed to death while cycling on an Amsterdam street by a man with Moroccan nationality, officials said.
The 47-year-old film maker, who sometimes claimed he was a distant relative of the late 19th century artist Vincent van Gogh, caused uproar this summer among the Dutch Muslim community with his short film "Submission" about Islam and women.
The film featured four abused women in see-through robes showing their breasts with texts from the Koran daubed on their bodies and talking about the abuse they suffered.
After the film was shown on Dutch television in August, Van Gogh received death threats and police stepped up measures to protect him, much against his will.
Dutch chief prosecutor Leo de Wit said the suspect arrested at the scene was a 26-year-old man with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality. No further details were given.
As the nation reeled from another daylight killing following the assassination of outspoken politician Pim Fortuyn in 2002, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende condemned the attack.
He called Van Gogh "a champion of the freedom of speech" and lamented the polarization of Dutch society. "Van Gogh was a man who did not hide his opinion and made enemies that way," Balkenende told a press conference.
"It is unacceptable if expressing your opinion is the cause of this brutal murder," he added.
"It is absolutely terrible and reminds everybody of what happened to Pim Fortuyn," Dutch Europe Minister Atzo Nicolai told EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Van Gogh was stabbed and shot in broad daylight Tuesday morning on the streets of Amsterdam, police said. The gunman was arrested and two people were injured in the shootout with police.
He left a note on the body of the victim, De Wit confirmed.
Witnesses also told NOS public television news that a suspect under arrest was dressed in Islamic dress with a long beard, but the police would not confirm those reports and would not speculate on a motive.
The Dutch government also urged people not to jump to conclusions, before the police had completed their investigations.
The suspected gunman was shot in the leg by police while fleeing the scene. He was being treated in hospital and would be questioned later, the authorities said.
Many commentators in the Netherlands immediately drew parallels between the murder of Van Gogh and the assassination of Fortuyn on May 6, 2002. Both men had controversial views and took part in heated political debate.
Van Gogh made his film with a controversial liberal politician of Somalian descent, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who is a vocal critic of women's treatment in Islamic culture and who was also under police protection after receiving death threats.
He also directed television series, wrote columns and books, and had just finished a movie about the assassination of Fortuyn.
Fortuyn was shot when he came out of a radio studio by environmental activist Volkert van der Graaf. Van der Graaf, who later said he felt the politician who was poised for a big win in the Dutch elections in May 2002 was "a danger" to society, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the murder.