The US ambassador in Libya, while visiting Bhengazi from Tripoli, was killed yesterday together with 3 other consulate staff when a mob of angry Muslims attacked their residence. Similar demonstrations are currently happening in Egypt and Yemen. And all this in response to some cheap video clip produced in the USA about Islam and its prophet Mohammed. And I say clip, because that’s about all we have, and all anyone has seen so far, despite the claims of a movie produced with a budget of 5 million dollars.
Lot’s of rumours flying around at this stage, the alleged producer is a Coptic Christian or Jew, or maybe neither, and the disgraced fringe pastor Terry Jones of Koran-burning fame that led to the deaths of 16 people in Afghanistan in 2010 is apparently somehow involved in promoting it.
But, I have a question. Where is it? The movie I mean, “Innocence of Muslims“. Does it actually exist? All that’s known so far about this by all acounts embarrassingly amateurish and dilettante project is the trailer that was uploaded to Youtube by one Sam Bacile, most likely a pseudonym.
It’s essentially Plan 9 from Outer Space for Islamophobes.
And I have serious doubts that any actual movie beyond the 13.51 minute trailer actually exists. It’s a tasteless and cynical hoax that has cost innocent people their lifes by purposefully inciting hatred among Muslims. One does not have to condone the fact that too many believers of Islam are not opposed to violence, in fact, we should speak out against violence and aggression committed by anyone, from any religious denomination, but I can’t help thinking that this little trash movie campaign was a calculated and cynical attempt at provoking Muslims by interested Christian parties in the US.
This is not comparable to the Mohammed cartoons or the Satanic Verses in my opinion, the point here is not that some Islamists disregard freedom of speech and expression, and cry “blasphemy” and incite violence over a badly drawn comic or an average piece of literature, this is an instance, as far as I can see, of purposefully insulting a religion and its prophet, may he be fictional(probably) or not, by putting out a trash movie clip designed to push all the buttons of Muslim believers worldwide. And they, whoever they may be, certainly got the reaction they wanted.
Can you name these “interested Christian parties in the US”?
The point is exactly that “that some Islamists disregard freedom of speech and expression”.
The desire to control people’s thoughts by violent means gives power to points of view, like this alleged film, that are disproportianate to their value.