In the wake of the tragic attacks in Libya, people of good will around the world have to ask ourselves how we are going to handle ourselves during this delicate moment in human history.
It is time for people from every nation to take responsibility for our actions and interactions with people of other cultures and religions, and do our own part to proceed with respect whenever possible, and to disagree without being disagreeable.
Unfortunately, Sam Bacile made a film meant to denigrate Islam and he succeeded. And, unfortunately, his success is a setback for the world. (Update: the identity of Sam Bacile is uncertain at this point. He may be a fabrication. Will update as we find out more)
I have only seen the trailer for the film facetiously titled "Innocence of Muslims." However the AP described it this way:
The film claims Muhammad was a fraud. The 14-minute trailer of the movie that reportedly set off the protests, posted on the website YouTube in an original English version and another dubbed into Egyptian Arabic, shows an amateur cast performing a wooden dialogue of insults disguised as revelations about Muhammad, whose obedient followers are presented as a cadre of goons.
Once the trailer was seen in the Muslim world, a violent, fringe mob in Libya attacked and killed the U.S. Ambassador. Reuters described the scene this way:
Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other U.S. diplomats were killed as they rushed away from a consulate building in Benghazi, stormed by al Qaeda-linked gunmen blaming America for the film that they said mocked the Prophet of Islam.
(UPDATE: AP is reporting that the attacks on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya may have been premeditated and used the protests as cover for the killings. The attack on the Cairo embassy is unaffected by this update.)
The Associated Press reported that Bacile believes his movie will help his native land of Israel by exposing Islam's flaws to the world: "Islam is a cancer, period."
No, Mr. Bacile, Islam is not a cancer, and Muslims are not evil. And your assessment of Islam and Muslims is un-American.
In this country we embrace the idea of a religiously pluralistic society that welcomes people of all faith traditions and American Muslims are an important part of our democracy. And American Muslims are standing up for American values. Since the attacks on the American Embassy in Cairo and Libya the Muslim Rep. Keith Ellison and every major American Muslim organization has condemned the attacks.
It is well known that within the Muslim world there are extremists and fanatics who can be provoked and incited by irresponsible media and self-serving religious leaders. We have seen this before. Terry Jones burns the Quran and the results were riots in Afganistan and the loss of more life.
This is not excusing the deadly response to the film -- it is inexcusable. Violent reactions to any kind of art or thought, no matter how lame, are disgusting and unacceptable in decent society.
Yet creating a film such as "Innocence of Muslims" is akin to shouting fire in the movie theatre. Sam Bacile and his Islamohating cohorts appear to have created a symbiotic relationship with the violent Muslim extremists -- each give the other a sense of self-righteousness and victimhood with a perfect circle of destruction.
Bacile and his film are part of the problem, not the solution. His actions have put America and Americans in danger, and his film should be condemned for its bigotry and irresponsibility.
Fortunately, most Americans have done just that. As President Obama said in his statement on the Libyan attacks:
While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants.
And Rabbi Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism condemned the attacks and added:
I also stand here today to condemn the video that apparently spurred these incidents. It was clearly crafted to provoke, to offend, and to evoke outrage. The denigration of religion and religious figures and the intentional framing of religious texts and tenets in this manner must likewise be condemned.
These are precarious times. We have to make extra effort to reach across divides and try to work with others, even when we do not agree with them. We cannot be identified with the most extreme positions of our nations or religions.
As Rabbi Saperstein said in a press conference today: "Small violent groups of extremists, no matter their religious identity, cannot be allowed to define their religions or nations."
It is up to those of us who know that there are good people of every faith tradition to rise above the goading and violence and attempt the much harder work of building bridges that unite rather than bombs that destroy.
Follow Paul Brandeis Raushenbush on Twitter: www.twitter.com/raushenbush
Hani Almadhoun: Those Ultra-Conservative Muslims Scare Me Too
Ben Daniel: Who Will Define Islam?
Joel Rubin: What Chris Stevens Taught Us
Riots ensued. In 1929, a Muslim named Ilm-ud-din stabbed Raj Pal to death. Ilm-ud-din was defended by Jinnah, later to become the founder of Pakistan. Ilm-ud-din was hanged in Lahore jail. His funeral was attended by thousands, including the Muslim intelligentsia. Iqbal, who became one of the poets of Pakistan, was asked to lead the funeral services, but he refused saying that he was not worthy of that great honour.
Ilm-ud-din's grave is still a major pilgrimage site in Pakistan. He has a Facebook page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilm-ud-din
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ghazi-Ilm-ud-Din-Shaheed/184122908283609
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVB0we2-V-8
The more things change, the more things stay the same. What has changed is that this barbarism has now come to the West, thanks to the Internet, foolish immigration policies, and the cult of multiculturalism that has left people unable to comprehend the challenge posed to 21st century values by the values of 7th century Arabia.
In fact, the movie contains amateurish, yet basically correct portrayals of two incidents described in Islamic sources.
One is the incident in which Zayd, a companion of Muhammad, gruesomely tortured and killed a very old woman named Umm Qirfa, after she spoke out against Muhammad:
"Allah’s Messenger sent Zayd to Wadi Qura, where he encountered the Banu Fazarah. Some of his Companions were killed, and Zayd was carried away wounded. Ward was slain by the Banu Badr. When Zayd returned, he vowed that no washing should touch his head until he had raided the Fazarah. After he recovered, Muhammad sent him with an army against the Fazarah settlement. He met them in Qura and inflicted casualties on them and took Umm Qirfah prisoner. He also took one of Umm’s daughters and Abdallah bin Mas’adah prisoner. Zyad bin Harithah ordered Qays to kill Umm, and he killed her cruelly. He tied each of her legs with a rope and tied the ropes to two camels, and they split her in two."
- al-Tabari, vol. 8, p. 96
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/The_Story_of_Umm_Qirfa
The other incident found in Islamic sources involves Safiyah, a captured woman whom Muhammad married just after killing her husband.
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Safiyah
Interesting. So any time someone acts violently to a youtube video, the video creator is to blame?
This is worse that thought-crime persecution...this is post hoc thought-crime persecution. There are thousands of videos on youtube that arguably ridicule Islam, and none of them seem to require censorship, let alone media coverage. Where is the disconnect?
It's in the mainstream/liberal press, ain't that an oxymoron.
Sad. When the stampede started there was no where for these USA Citizens to go, but to torture and death. Each and every American should feel devastated.
Bring them all home, take the money that we pour into these regions, give it to all the victims families of this senseless foreign policies of appeasement, bowing and scraping, and be done with it.