Raised a Roman Catholic, Wilders left the church at his coming of age. His travels to Israel and the Arab world as a young adult significantly helped form his political views.[7] Wilders worked as a speechwriter for the conservative-liberal VVD; he later served as parliamentary assistant to party leader Frits Bolkestein from 1990 to 1998. He was elected to the municipal council of Utrecht in 1997. The following year he was elected to the House of Representatives. Citing irreconcilable differences over the party's position on the accession of Turkey to the European Union, he left the VVD in 2004 to form his own party, the Party for Freedom.
Wilders has campaigned to stop what he views as the "Islamisation of the Netherlands". He has compared the Quran to Mein Kampf and has campaigned to have the book banned in the Netherlands.[8][9] He advocates ending immigration from Muslim countries,[8][10] and banning the construction of new mosques.[11] Wilders was a speaker at the Facing Jihad Conference in Israel in 2008, which discussed the dangers of jihad, and has called for a hard line against what he called "street terror" exerted by minorities in Dutch cities.[12] His controversial 2008 film featuring his views on Islam, Fitna, received international attention and extreme criticism. His party was also sued because content was used in his film without permission.[13] He has been described in the media as populist[14][15][16] and as a far-right politician.[17][18][19] He was also described by the media as an Islamophobe.[20][21] Wilders rejects being labeled as far-right and views himself as a right-wing liberal, saying he does not want to be "linked with the wrong rightist fascist groups".[22] More recently, Wilders has worked together with Marine Le Pen of the French National Rally, as well as Austria's Freedom Party, Italy's Lega Nord and Belgium's Vlaams Belang.[23][24][25][26]
^Hardy, Roger (28 April 2010). "Dutch Muslim women striving to integrate". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2014. Mr Wilders wants the authorities to halt all immigration from Muslim countries.