AMSTERDAM, 11 March 2006 — A Dutch court convicted nine Muslims yesterday of belonging to a terrorist group for inciting hatred against non-Muslims and threatening terrorist actions.

Two of the men were also convicted of attempted murder for throwing hand grenades during a standoff with police and given sentences of 15 and 13 years respectively. Four others were acquitted.

None of the convicted men was found to have carried out terrorist operations, but rather had spread material “that incited violence, or spread hate or threatened” non-Muslims, judges found.

It was the first time in the Netherlands that Muslim extremists were convicted for promoting a violent ideology rather than carrying out specific violent actions. “Threatening terrorist crimes strikes at the heart of public order,” said the complex ruling, which took five hours to read.

“Anyone who preaches hate and violence lays the basis for committing crimes directed at instilling fear among the people and destroying Dutch democracy,” said the ruling read by Judge Rene Elkerbout.

Among the defendants was Mohammed Bouyeri, 27, the convicted killer of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who already has been sentenced to life in prison for the Nov. 2, 2004 murder. Bouyeri was found to be the leader of the group but judges said he could not be punished further.

The heaviest sentence of 15 years was given to Jason Walters — whose father is American — while Ismael Aknikh received a 13-year term. Prosecutors had asked for 20.

They were found to have worked in close cooperation and with premeditation when they threw a hand grenade that wounded five police officers during their arrest on Nov. 10, 2004.

The other members were given sentences ranging from one to five years depending on how actively they were found to have participated in the so-called Hofstad group.

The trial was seen a test for new Dutch laws making it easier to prosecute extremists and increasing penalties for terrorism-related crimes.

The case is also seen as evidence of the threat Europe faces from homegrown radicals, since most of the defendants were born in the Netherlands.

Most were arrested in sweeps shortly after van Gogh’s murder. Their lawyers argued that they were merely a loose group of friends who shared an interest in Islam and should not be found guilty for their association with Bouyeri. Defense lawyers of the convicted men said they would appeal the verdict.

Prosecutors had argued the group was terrorist because jihad was its ultimate goal and were taken by surprise when judges reasoned instead that it was terrorist because it promoted hate and threatened civil order. Spokeswoman Digna van Boetzelaer said the court’s decision “will help us in future terrorism cases.”

Judges said the men “clearly all belonged to one group” because they attended cult-like meetings at Bouyeri’s home.