Geert Wilders is a controversial Dutch politician who has made headlines for inflammatory statements over Islam and immigrants from Muslim countries.

Now Wilders stands trial, accused of inciting religious hatred. Among other things he has compared the Islamic faith to Nazism and called for a ban on the Quran, which he says is a fascist book.

Wilders' party has played a crucial role in forming a coalition government in the Netherlands. And it seems to be a trend gaining momentun across the European continent as a number of far-right parties are gaining significant support.
 
Just who is fuelling the rising anti-Islam trend across Europe? And should the continent be alarmed?
 
Inside Story, with presenter Laura Kyle, discusses with Bertus Hendriks, a political analyst at the Clingendal Institute Of International Relations, Farhad Afshar, the president of the Coordination of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland and a sociologist at Berne University, and Robin Simcox, a research fellow at the Centre for Social Cohesion.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Tuesday, October 5, 2010.