Bouyeri objected to the controversial film Submission van Gogh made from a script written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali that deals with violence against women in some Islamic societies; it tells the stories of four abused Muslim women using visual shock tactics. Following the broadcast of the film both van Gogh and Hirsi Ali received death threats. Van Gogh did not take the threats seriously and refused any protection. According to Hirsi Ali he said "Nobody kills the village idiot", a term he frequently used about himself.