He called Islam an “ideology of a retarded culture.” He said the Koran is “a fascist book which incites hatred and killing.” He has had to be protected by an armed guard at all times due to death threats from Muslims. However, after decades of heavy criticism, Geert Wilders and his anti-immigration Party for Freedom (pvv) won a stunning victory in last week’s elections in the Netherlands.

Wilders’s inflammatory remarks, his bleached-blond hair, and his slogan “the Netherlands first again,” have earned him the nickname of the “Dutch Donald Trump.” His party is known for campaigning against the European Union (Nexit), immigration and Islam. He has called for a ban on the Koran, mosques and all Islamic schools. He also aims to put a complete stop to the “asylum tsunami,” which he said is causing the country’s housing shortage and high health-care costs.

Some might consider these views extreme, but they are the standpoints that a significant number of the Dutch people voted for. The party won 37 parliamentary seats out of 150, making it the most popular party by far and more than doubling the number of seats it had in 2021. Centrist parties were less popular: Dilan Yeşilgöz, outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s successor as head of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (vvd), lost a humiliating 10 seats, bringing the vvd’s count down to 24.

Because of his controversial standpoints, forming a coalition with other parties to reach the needed 76 seats will be very difficult. Yeşilgöz has already declared that the vvd will not be part of it. Pieter Omzigt, leader of a new popular party called the New Social Contract, is also not keen on cooperating with the fringe-right party. But there aren’t many alternatives. “No party can ignore us any longer,” Wilders declared after his victory.

In an effort to appeal to other parties, Wilders toned down his anti-Islam views during this year’s election campaign. His main focus, however, was the issue the Netherlands and the rest of Europe have been facing for decades, and part of the cause of increasing Islam populations: migration. This controversial subject caused the previous Dutch government to collapse in July.

“We have to think about our own people first now. Borders closed. Zero asylum-seekers,” Wilders said. The pvv not only wants to completely stop immigrants from coming in, but also aims to “increase the outflow” by sending back illegal immigrants and taking away residence permits from refugees who go on holiday to their country of origin.

Clearly, a significant portion of the Dutch people agree with Wilders. More and more are fed up with the large number of immigrants. Many see immigration as the direct cause for unreasonably high taxes, health-care costs and rent.

These anti-immigration sentiments evident in the Netherlands are part of a wider European trend.

Governments throughout Europe are struggling with immigration. More than half a million migrants applied for asylum within the first six months of 2023, up 30 percent from the previous year. People often want to empathize with migrants, but more and more Europeans are waking up to the problems they import, such as increased crime, housing shortages and rising national debt. As a result, fringe-right parties against immigration are gaining more popularity.

The spread of Islam is a major factor causing Europe to be less welcoming toward migrants. A study by the Journal of Religion and Demography shows that Muslims will reach 11.2 percent of Europe’s population by 2050 if migration continues at the current rate.

After Hamas invaded Israel, and terrorist attacks across the Continent followed, many in Europe fear the expanding influence of Islam. Soon, Wilders’s “extreme” views against Islam might not be as unpopular anymore.

While Wilders’s triumph may have shocked the EU’s often left-leaning agenda, it is not surprising to those familiar with Bible prophecy.

In the July 2023 Philadelphia Trumpet issue, editor in chief Gerald Flurry explained that the Bible prophesies in Revelation 17 of seven resurrections of the Holy Roman Empire. The July issue specifically centered around the 10 European kings (verse 12) now uniting under Germany to form the last resurrection. Mr. Flurry identified the Netherlands as one of these 10 kings (see “Ten Kings: The Netherlands”).

Pushing back against immigration and Islam is becoming more popular within Europe, and it is one of the factors uniting these 10 kings. Since Wilders’s early days in politics, he has said that the Western world is in “an undeclared war” with Islam. In 2010, the Trumpet wrote:

A Europe that will stand up to Islam domestically will stand up to Islam internationally. Some Muslim immigrants have been constantly pushing at their European host nations, and now those nations are beginning to turn on them. The same thing will soon happen on the international scene.

A specific passage in the Bible shows that tension between Muslims and the Western world will soon culminate in war. Daniel 11 prophesies that a united European superpower, “the king of the north,” will soon clash with “the king of the south” (verse 40). This king of the south is radical Islam led by Iran (order our free booklet The King of the South for more information).

The rise of fringe-right parties such as the pvv shows that Europe is taking a stronger stand against immigration and Islam. Wilders’s political gains are a harbinger of a powerful, nationalistic, anti-Islam Europe that will soon unite and conquer the king of the south.

To learn more about this coming clash, read our Trends article “Why the Trumpet Watches Iran and Europe Heading for a Clash of Civilizations.”