Geert Wilders, the controversial Dutch politician, spoke at Columbia on Wednesday night upon invitation by the College Republicans.

"We all should never surrender,nor compromise once inch, when it comes down to our freedom - the most important right we still have today in our free, western societies."

"The so-called Middle East conflict is not about land at all... It's a battle between Islam and freedom."

"Our western culture is better than Islamic culture, and we should be proud of that, and we should defend that."

He was candid and unapologetic in expressing his hatred of Islam.

"Islam, according to me, is a political and totalitarian ideology...Muhammad was not a perfect man. He was a mass murderer and he was a pedophile."

"I fight against the Islamization of our societies and therefore, for the protection of the right of women, of homosexuals, of Christians, of Jews, of apostates, of non-believers, and of the kafis."

"I don't believe that what I'm saying is extreme."

Audience reactions to his speech ranged from indignation and anger to nonchalance.

"It's the White, European, Christian man civilizing the crazy, Muslim, brown people...I was surprised at the amount of support that he got. People kept clapping," said a visibly-upset Alaa Milbes.

"He was a buffoon, to be quite honest. He was a clown," said law student Birgitte Hagem.

Dutch student David de Jung said, "I thought it was a charade. He's got the right to free speech but it's all, it's lies, it's bias, it's bulls**t."

Most audience members still felt there was value in listening to a speaker whose views they disagreed with profoundly.

CC Alum Lauren Prentice summed it up best. "I think the best way to deal with people such as the speaker is to let them speak and then knock them down and defeat them via logical argument."