Al Nas Television sparked these riots
Last edited Wed Sep 12, 2012, 06:21 PM - Edit history (3)
This ongoing description of "the film that sparked" these protests is off base. The film is surely offensive to some people, but since most offensive things do not result in protests the observation that the film is offensive doesn't explain the protests.
The Egyptian religious satellite network Al Nas used the film to spark these protests.
The film itself clearly did not incite any riots. It was on youtube from July 2 until September 11 without any riot activity noted.
Then an Egyptian TV network that reaches much of the Arab world airs it, falsely says the US and Israel are responsible for it, tells lies about it, claiming it is what Americans watch on 9/11, and tells its viewers that they need to be outraged.
As to why this night of recreational outrage programming was staged by Al Nas for September 11 is anyone's guess. They could have brought this super-important newsworthy film to the public attention at any point since July 2. (BlueMeanie notes below that the Arabic subtitled version wasn't available until 9/4.)
But if they wanted to have a night of rage on September 11, does anyone really want to suggest that if it were not for one particular fundie opus they would have had to cancel their programming for lack of things to complain about, and showed IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE?
Though I consider Al Nas free speech just like any other, if anyone wants to get excited about who willfully incited riots it's not like there's any mystery about it.
Protest organizers screened portions of the film for crowds before leading them to the embassies.
Yes, this was indeed an intentional incitement to riot.
An incitement to riot is not making an offensive film. It is holding a rally and encouraging those assembled to, in fact, have a riot.
Religious leaders who incite riots are a problem.
I get that American neocon fundies are especially offensive to we American liberals, but the primary role of religious crackpots in inciting riot here is quite plainly the role of religious Islamic crackpots, with an assist from their American counterparts.
If FOX had a night-of-hate screening some of the antisemitic programing the Arab world produces daily (which takes a back seat to nothing in the religious offense sweepstakes) and then some Jewish fundamentalist psycho organized a rally, screened the shows and then led the audience to attack a nearby mosque in California, it is credible that anyone, anywhere would say that anti-semitic Arab films caused the attack on the mosque, or even "sparked" the attack on the mosque?
Again, the person inciting a riot is typically the guy with a bull horn telling a crowd of people to have a riot.
And this infantalization of Muslims as volatile children who lack moral capacity and should be expected, of course, to commit murders if they see the wrong movies is racist. Muslims are people, just like any other. And some of them are bad people, as is sometimes the case with people.
= new reply since forum marked as read
