Amsterdam, October 2, 2004. About 200,000 Netherlanders demonstrate against the centre-right government’s cutbacks and, especially, its plans to reduce facilities for early retirement. Organized by the trade unions, this is the largest demonstration of trade unionists in Dutch history – a classic case of left vs. right. Amsterdam, November 2, 2004. About 20,000 Netherlanders join together to mourn filmmaker and writer Theo van Gogh, assassinated that morning by a radical Muslim – an impressive turnout for a demonstration not sponsored by any mass organization. The murder fosters a new cleavage in Dutch society: opponents vs. supporters of multiculturalism. It is not just a verbal struggle. A week after the murder, some seven mosques, two Islamic schools and five Christian churches are set on fire.