The Hofstadgroup trial is wrapping up and today was the day in which convicted Van Gogh-murderer Mohammed Bouyeri, who has also been a defendant in this case, addressed the court. It took him more than two hours to read out his statement, but it didn't have the fireworks that some were expecting:

... observers afterwards agreed it was too long and confusing. Bouyeri did not address the prosecution's contention about the existence of a terrorist organisation, or the central role he allegedly played in it.

Journalists in court estimated 70 percent of his speech consisted of citations taken from a range of writers, including Michael Ignatieff and Jessica Stern. Bouyeri gathered the material from the prison library.

Dressed in a traditional Arabic garment with a red and white scarf on his head, Bouyeri began his address with a Muslim confession of his faith in Arabic. A translator interpreted his words for the court.

"Comparing me to Osama bin Laden does the man a great wrong and extends me too much honour I don't deserve," Bouyeri said.

"But it fills me with me with honour, pride and joy that you see me as the standard-bearer of Islam in Europe," he told the prosecution.

Another observer noted:

His precise intention, therefore, remained totally unclear. The only point he appeared to make was that the Prophet Mohammed had regularly called for the use of violence against unbelievers. He raised numerous examples as to how and why unbelievers ought to be killed, an aspect of his 'lecture' which must have had the lawyers acting for the other defendants grinding their teeth. They have been endeavouring for weeks to convince the court that the ideas adhered to by the Hofstad group do not automatically have to result in violent acts.

His intention may not have been clear to all of us, but Bouyeri knows quite well that there is an audience of potential "standard-bearers" of which there are more than a few in Europe. What is unclear to us, is perfectly clear to them.

This probably heralds the end of Bouyeri's direct siginificance as a media magnet, something he no doubt realized himself given the effort he put into his lenghty statement. As this trial concludes and as he is already serving a life sentence for the Van Gogh murder, he probably won't have another opportunity to repeat it. But his call to potential followers stands.