Rightwing Dutch MP Gert Wilders’ crusade against Islam may turn out to have an incongruous victim: The Netherlands’ Intercontinental Cup match against the United Arab Emirates, scheduled to take place in Sharjah from 3-6 April.

Wilders, the leader of the small Freedom Party (PVV) in the Dutch parliament, has let it be known for several months that he is busy with a 15-minute film, entitled Fitwa (‘The Test’), which was originally thought to be likely to appear on television at the end of January, but has been delayed until late March.

Television companies have been reluctant to show it, and even its appearance on the internet was thrown into uncertainty over the Easter weekend as Wilders’ provider, Network Solutions, suspended the website on which he was promoting it.

The politician, who is adept at grabbing media attention, has refused to go into detail about the content of the film, but he has confirmed that it will be in line with his previous statements about Islam and about the Koran in particular, which have compared the Muslim scriptures with Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and demanded that Muslims should repudiate many of its teachings if they wish to remain in The Netherlands.

The film has caused considerable concern in the Dutch government with the ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs having serious discussions with Wilders as far back as last November.

Local authorities have been warned to put plans into place for dealing with demonstrations by The Netherlands’ sizable Muslim community in the wake of the showing of the film.

And there have already been protests in Afghanistan, where Dutch troops are part of the international occupation force, linking Wilders’ film with the controversial Danish cartoons which have again hit the headlines.

All Dutch embassies were earlier warned by Foreign Affairs about the possibility of riots in the wake of the film’s appearance.

The KNCB has already written to the ministry drawing its attention to the Intercontinental Cup match, and to the ICC raising its concerns about the possible threat to the Sharjah fixture.

The problem for the cricket authorities is that the timing of the release of the film, on the internet as well as on Dutch television, is difficult to predict, and could conceivably occur shortly before the departure of the Dutch squad from Windhoek for the UAE.

It therefore seems possible that action could need to be taken at extremely short notice, in a highly fluid, not to say volatile, situation.

‘We are monitoring the situation very carefully,’ said KNCB chairman Marc Asselbergs last week, ‘and the security of our players is our highest priority.’

The conceivable threat to a cricket match is all the more ironic because cricket is a significant factor in the integration of Muslim communities, not only in The Netherlands but across Western Europe. It would be a particularly singular and bitter victory for Wilders’ brand of intolerance if Dutch international Mudassar Bukhari were prevented from representing his country in the UAE at the beginning of April because of opposition to this film.