The Prime Minister of the Netherlands made it very clear today that he wishes Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali would just go away.

AMSTERDAM — Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said on Friday he did not think much of the contribution of outspoken MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali to the debate about the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

Speaking in Berlin on Thursday, Hirsi Ali said she wished Balkenende had as much courage as Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Hirsi Ali said publishing the cartoons is a matter of freedom of expression.

Rasmussen has consistently refused to apologise to Muslims on behalf of the Danish newspaper that first printed the 12 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. He contends his government has no control over the free press.

The Dutch media asked Balkenende during his weekly press conference on Friday about Hirsi Ali’s comments. He was initially reluctant to talk about the issue. When pressed, he said “I wonder whether this will help the debate in the Netherlands.”

The Prime Minister also said “we don’t have much use” for Hirsi Ali’s contribution.