Подчинение (Посвящение) Submission (Posvyashcheniye)

2004 Dutch short drama film

Submission is a 2004 English language Dutch short drama film produced and directed by Theo van Gogh, and written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (a former member of the Dutch House of Representatives for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy); it was shown on NPO 3, a Dutch public broadcasting network, on 29 August 2004. The film's title is one of the possible translations of the Arabic word "Islam". A Muslim extremist reacted to the film by assassinating Van Gogh.

[[File:Submission screenshot. gif|thumb|right|Image of a woman's body with Koranic verses written on it from the film Submission. The actress plays the role of a Muslim woman (dressed with a transparent black clothing), having been beaten and raped by a relative. The bodies are used in the film as a canvas for verses from the Quran. but clad in a see through Hijab, her naked body painted with verses from the Quran. The characters are Muslim women who have been abused in various ways. The film contains monologues of these women and dramatically highlights three verses of the Koran (, and ), by showing them painted on women’s bodies.

Writer Hirsi Ali has said "it is written in the Koran a woman may be slapped if she is disobedient. This is one of the evils I wish to point out in the film". In an answer to a question about whether the film would offend Muslims, Hirsi Ali said that "if you're a Muslim woman and you read the Koran, and you read in there that you should be raped if you say 'no' to your husband, that is offensive. And that is insulting." Director Theo Van Gogh, who was known as a controversial and provocative personality, called the film a "political pamphlet."

The film drew praise for portraying the ways in which women are abused in accordance with fundamentalist Islamic law, as well as anger for criticising Islamic canon itself. It drew the following comment from movie critic Phill Hall, "Submission was bold in openly questioning misogyny and a culture of violence against women because of Koranic interpretations. The questions raised in the film deserve to be asked: is it divine will to assault or kill women? Is there holiness in holding women at substandard levels, denying them the right to free will and independent thought? And ultimately, how can such a mindframe exist in the 21st century?" Another (unnamed) critic referred to the stories told in the film as "simplistic, even caricatures". stabbed through and affixed to the body by a dagger, linked the murder to Van Gogh's film and his views regarding Islam. It was addressed to Ayaan Hirsi Ali and called for a jihad against kafir (unbelievers or infidels), against America, Europe, the Netherlands, and Hirsi Ali herself. Following the murder of Van Gogh, tens of thousands gathered in the center of Amsterdam to mourn Van Gogh's death. Besides Bouyeri, eleven other Muslim men were arrested and charged with conspiracy to assassinate Hirsi Ali. Bouyeri was jailed for life, for which in the Netherlands there is no possibility of parole, and pardons are rarely granted. Some of the others were convicted of other offences in relation to their involvement in the so called Hofstad Network, but not for a direct connection with the Van Gogh murder.