Tag Archives: innocence of muslims

Muslims protest ‘age of mockery’ as thousands descend on Google HQ – Telegraph

Muslims Protest outside Google HQ LondonMuslims protest ‘age of mockery’ as thousands descend on Google HQ – Telegraph.

Muslim’s from across the United Kingdom have descended on London to protest outside the British Head Quarters of Google.

The protesters are demanding Google remove the anti-Muslim movie, “The Innocence of Muslims”, off YouTube. The organiser of the rally, Masound Alam has warned of further protests outside Google offices world wide until the movie is banned, adding “This is not freedom of expression, there is a limit for that. This insult of the Prophet will not be allowed.”

Protests held up banners saying “Freedom of Speech = Hatred to Muslims?”, and are arguing that we are in an “Age of Mockery”.

One of the speakers, Sheikh Faiz Al-Aqtab Siddiqui, told The Daily Telegraph: “Terrorism is not just people who kill human bodies, but who kill human feelings as well. The makers of this film have terrorised 1.6 billion people.

“Organisations like Google are key players and have to take responsibility for civility. You can’t just say it doesn’t matter that it’s freedom of speech. It’s anarchy.”

YouTube have responded saying the video does not violate any of their terms of usage, and will therefore stay on their site. What is offensive to one person, or in one country is not in another.

 

French Satirical Magazine Charlie Hebdo Prints Prophet Mohammed Cartoons

The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has printed cartoons of the prophet Mohammed naked in it’s latest addition. The magazine has a history of using satire to poke fun at organized religion. Last year the magazine was attacked by a fire bomb after it ran cartoons depicting Mohammed. This latest publication has been condemned by the French government, and has led to riot police being deployed to protect the magazines Paris headquarters. France has also shut it’s embassies, and schools in Islamic countries, in fear of a backlash

Charlie Hebdo has responded to the criticism by saying they were not attacking Islam, by commenting on the protests against America as a result of the anti-Islam, “Innocence of Muslims”.

Media for Christ group got permit for movie believed to be ‘Innocence of Muslims’ | 89.3 KPCC

 

A screenshot from a trailer for controversial anti-Islam film, "Innocence of Muslims."

 

The organization that received the film permit for a movie believed to be the controversial “Innocence of Muslims” was Duarte, Calif.-based nonprofit advocacy group Media for Christ.

Karen Herrera, deputy city manager for the City of Duarte, told KPCC that Media for Christ received a permit last year for a movie called “Desert Warriors” through Film LA, an organization that gives film permits for the County of Los Angeles. Herrera said she was told that information from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department.

People involved in the film believe “Desert Warriors” later became “Innocence of Muslims.”

Meanwhile, the website The Smoking Gun reported Friday that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, another man connected to the film, became a government informant after his 2009 arrest for bank fraud.

Joseph Nassralla Abdelmasih is the president for Media for Christ, which identifies itself as a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization that provides spiritual aid and humanitarian assistance. Nassralla has been introduced at speaking events as a Coptic Christian and human rights activist from Egypt.

Last year, Nassralla participated in a demonstration asking for Sheriff Lee Baca to resign over his praise of the Council on American Islamic Relations, an Islamic civil liberties group.

“I fled to America with my family because of the violence directed against me for my Christian faith,” Nasralla said in an announcement published on Jihadwatch.org. “Sheriff Baca must be fired, and the County must apologize to all of us who have suffered at the hands of the Muslim brotherhood.”

KPCC made efforts to reach Media for Christ on Friday. Calls to the nonprofit’s office were not answered.

Permit confirmed

Paul Audley, president of Film LA, confirmed to KPCC on Friday that the permit was issued on Aug. 18, 2011. He referred further questions to the County of Los Angeles, which said it would not release the film permit due to safety concerns.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula has also emerged as another local man involved in the film. Nakoula told the Associated Press that he was in charge of the film’s logistics.

Nakoula has a criminal past and was convicted for drugs and engaging in identity theft, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Times also found an actor who received a check from Nakoula’s address for participating in the film.

It is unclear how “Innocence of Muslims” was funded. Media for Christ had revenues of more than $1 million last year, according to tax records.

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Why Embassy Riots Won’t Stop

Why the Embassy Riots Won’t Stop
The world has become one big crowded theater, and anyone with a laptop can now yell “fire” and set off a stampede.

BY MICHAEL KOPLOW | SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

The riots erupting across the Arab world over the hate-filled video “Innocence of Muslims” have taken many people, including those responsible for security at U.S. embassies, by surprise. After all, Barack Obama’s administration has assiduously been working to improve America’s ties and standing with Muslim societies, from the president’s speeches in Ankara and Cairo in 2009 to the policies supporting emerging democratic movements in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, and other Arab states. Furthermore, the current anger in the streets of Cairo and Tunis is over a film the U.S. government had no hand in creating or promoting, and it would therefore be logical to assume that once enough steam is let off and the protests run their course, everything will go back to the status quo that existed before this week.

Unfortunately, that’s probably not true. It’s far more likely that the events of this week mark the beginning of a period in which violent protests against the United States in Arab countries will become more commonplace. Three reasons stand out.

First, there is a fundamental disagreement between what the United States views as a basic right and what many Muslims living in Arab states view as a basic right. Where Americans prioritize freedom of speech as a value to be cherished and upheld no matter the circumstance, the Arab world sees sanctity of religion as a value that cannot be violated in any instance. While this is not new, the explosion in communications technology and the resulting dissemination of information, no matter how obscure or trivial, pushes this divergence of worldviews to the forefront.

Five years ago, nobody in the United States, let alone in Egypt or Libya, would have heard of “Sam Bacile,” and not more than a handful of people would have seen any part of the infamous film. Now, however, anyone with a laptop can create an abhorrent masterpiece and ensure that it is viewed by millions of people the world over. The entire planet has become, in the words of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a “crowded theater” on the brink of stampede.

This means that episodes like the current one are guaranteed to happen over and over again as Muslims are exposed to the pathology of hatred that consumes a fringe of Americans and take offense. Florida preacher Terry Jones and “Sam Bacile,” a.k.a. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, are the worst types of ethnic violence entrepreneurs, and Arab Muslims are going to be increasingly angry at what they see as infinite affronts to their sacred values and rights while the United States does nothing to curtail the rights of its citizens to express their views, no matter how odious they might be.

Second, while the Obama administration has desperately tried to be on the right side of history when it comes to the Arab Spring, years of American support for Arab dictators has left the United States with zero credibility. Decades of U.S. missteps in the region cannot be undone in the span of a couple of years, particularly when Arab countries like Egypt feel that the United States has nakedly used them to further American ambitions and interests. On top of the myriad of historical resentments, the United States is viewed with deep suspicion for supporting democratic movements in some places, such as Libya and Tunisia, but propping up the government in others, like in Bahrain. This places the United States in a completely lose-lose situation, where it jeopardizes long-term strategic assumptions and relationships in places like Egypt as it sides with protesters and parties calling for democracy yet gets no credit for it from publics that view the United States as hypocritical — or worse, as an enemy.

Even more than other states given its global status, the United States often has to make difficult decisions when its interests and values clash, but Arab societies are either unwilling or unready to cut Washington any slack or grant any leeway — making it all the more difficult to respond to incidents like the Innocence of Muslims conflagration. Against a backdrop of massively unpopular decisions, Arabs unfamiliar with the United States just assume that this is yet another instance in which America is choosing not to take action and prosecute the filmmakers, when in reality that option is simply not available in a country where free speech is absolute.

Finally, the emergence of nascent democratic politics in Arab Spring states has thrown a newly added complication into the mix. Newly elected governments need to remain popular to appeal for votes and remain in office, and the easiest way to do this is to step aside and let popular demonstrations against the Untied States proceed unabated. In some cases, governments will actually encourage the rioters. The Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt did exactly that, as President Mohamed Morsy was faced with calls to stand up to the United States over the fate of the film’s creators; it took an angry phone call from President Obama for him to change course. In addition, the presence of elected governments in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia means that protester are no longer focused on U.S. support for authoritarians, but on the perceived threat from American values that allow things like mockery of the Prophet. This makes incidents such as the current one even more likely to break out, as offensive material is both ubiquitous and a permanent feature of American culture.

While the anger triggered by “Innocence of Muslims” is sure to abate at some point in the near future, the riots taking place are not blips on the radar screen. American diplomats won’t be breathing a sigh of relief anytime soon.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/14/why_the_embassy_riots_wont_stop

THE DEBATE CONTINUES…….AS MAYHEM ABOUNDS…..

Sam Bacile, anti-Muslim filmmaker in hiding following anti-American Violence

The Israeli filmmaker who created the film “Innocence of Muslims” which ignited ultraconservative Islamist violent acts, is now in hiding.

There have been assaults on the U.S. Embassy in Egypt and the U.S. Consulate in Libya.

Sam Bacile states “Islam is a cancer, period” and that his film is a provocative political statement which condemns the religion.

Claims are made in the film that Muhammad was a fraud, a “feckless philanderer” and an “approver of child sexual abuse”.

Bacile was warned that he might be the next Theo van Gogh.  A Muslim extremist killed Van Gogh after making a film that appeared to be an insult to Islam.

Source Filmmaker Sam Bacile in hiding after anti-Muslim film sparks violence in which American diplomat was killed | Fox News.