AN Israeli-American man produces a film against Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that is promoted by an immigrant Copt. The result: the US embassy in Cairo is attacked and the US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three others are killed. First, the US embassy in Cairo had nothing to do with the film or with those who produced or promoted it. Second, the slain American ambassador in Libya supported the revolution there. He was an expert on Arab affairs and spoke Arabic fluently. He helped a British research organization which I work with. Third, any embassy around the world enjoys diplomatic immunity. The attack against the US embassy in Cairo took Egypt back to the Iranian revolution of 1979 when Americans were held inside the embassy for 444 days. Fourth, Egypt has signed diplomatic treaties protecting foreign diplomatic staff on its soil. The attack against the embassy is a flagrant breach of these treaties. Fifth, no one can insult Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) or his message. The Prophet (pbuh) is held in high esteem and no one can change that. Sixth, if the Israeli producer made this film to offend and enrage Muslims, he achieved his goal, thanks to the protesters. Not only did they serve him, they also gave him an additional service when they attacked the embassy on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist acts. They reminded Americans, who may have forgotten, that there are terrorists around the world who cannot be deterred by conscience or religion and that they want to hurt all Americans. Seventh, if the US embassy had not been attacked in Cairo and the US ambassador to Libya had not been killed over this film, the film would not have received much attention and would have remained limited to a small group of Israelis. The protesters called attention to the film, and because of them, millions of people will see it before events calm down. When Salman Rushdie wrote his book “The Satanic Verses”, Iran issued a fatwa to kill him. The result: millions of copies were sold, although the book was difficult to read and the author did not have many fans. Eighth, the protesters are the supporters of the Israeli-American Sam Bacile and the Coptic immigrant Maurice Sadiq. Pastor Terry Jones who burned copies of the Holy Qur'an had nothing to do with the film. I say the enemies of this despicable film helped its makers in a way not even the most despicable enemy of Muslims could have done. Ninth, I claim that every enemy of Islam and Muslims must have been jumping with joy because the protesters in Cairo and Benghazi did what those enemies expected. I can give you up to 100 reasons. What happened was a crime against innocent people, a crime against Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and against millions of Egyptians and Libyans who know better than to fall for the tricks of their enemies by doing what their enemies want. Ignorance can kill. But I don't know why ignorance kills in our region tenfold the number it kills in the rest of the world, as if we were the only ignorant and extremist people on this planet. There are alternatives to attacking an embassy or killing an ambassador. The UK's Channel 4 canceled the airing of a documentary called “Islam: the untold story” by historian Tom Holland after receiving 1,200 complaints against it. The actors were threatened as well. The airing was cancelled without killing anyone or destroying any property. Egyptian and Libyan protesters could have achieved the same result against the film, but instead they decided to choose to promote it instead of stopping its airing. We don't need enemies. We have thousands of enemies within us and they are the real danger to the Muslim Ummah.
– The writer is a well-known Arab columnist who can be reached at [email protected]
