Under the Hat: Same story, new fatwa

Ignorance incites ignorance to war

A horribly made, horribly shot U.S. film which mocks Islam has incited riots and murders in Libya and Egypt.  The situation is a real horror.  The acts in Libya are acts of war, but let’s look at what should be considered here.

First of all this is the horrid result of how out of control global media has become.  A film that normally wouldn’t see the light of day has become an international statement and reflects the very problem with the world today.  Don’t get me wrong I am not taking up for these murderous zealots.  They’ve committed a clear and precise act of war, but there is a point here, which must be made.

In the United States we are blessed to have the freedom of speech, religion and expression and we use those rights unapologetically.  We should, in our country.  But the rest of the world does not have these same freedoms and there are portions of the world who have been so oppressed that they’ve never understood why we are so bold to express ourselves with such vigor.

By making this film an online expression it was submitted for the world and yet the filmmakers expected it to be looked at the same way we in the U.S. look at such things.  This is the problem when ignorance goes global.  In the U.S. it is our right to be ignorant if we want to.  While we can argue that Islam fundamentalism is ignorant to certain portions of the world it is a way of life.  Good, bad – black, white that doesn’t matter.  In the U.S. if a person continues to handle a rattlesnake, gets bitten, and dies it isn’t a tragedy.  It is the result of someone doing something stupid and inevitably dying from an acute intoxication to stupidity.  They had it coming. 

Now this isn’t to suggest that the U.S. Embassy and consulates had it coming.  Nor is it to suggest that we had it coming.  I am not making a “we need to be nice to jackasses” remark.  What I am suggesting is that these filmmakers deserve to be tried for inciting an act of war.  They need to be held accountable in some fashion for these murders.  Why?  How dare I make such a statement? 

Recent history has proven that subject matter which is dealt with in this very poorly made film can and does ignite the ignorance of Islamic fundamentalists.  Does anybody remember “The Satanic Verses?”  The author of that novel, Salman Rushdie used Muhammad and the Quran in unfavorable context.  The result of his book was riots, protests, and finally the Ayatollah and Iran’s Supreme leader calling for a Fatwa.  This is basically a global open season on the head of the publishers and Rushdie.  While dozens of innocents died Europe made sure to protect Rushdie and his publishers.  

In 2007 a Dutch cartoonist incited riots while depicting Muhammad with a missile for a head.  Last year riots and killings began when some American soldiers accidentally burned copies of the Quran.  I could probably give a dozen or so other situations, which have occurred over the past 30 years or so. 

The point is history has proven that when a mockery of the Islamic faith is made global it results in murders and riots.  So why are folks in the United States still doing this?  
It is your right to disagree (as do I) with the Quran.  It is your right to believe (as do I) that the prophet Muhammad was not a prophet at all.  It is your right to believe (as do I) that while we should support the freedom of religion, Islam seems to be a bellicose fairy tale.  It is also your right to believe (as do I) that Islamic extremism is a poison to the world, as we know it.  It is however deplorable that in order to make that point one would do the very things that exploit these thoughts and result 99% of the time in the murder of innocent people.  Did the filmmakers murder anyone?  No, but nor do drunk drivers directly.  
These filmmakers were however, the alcohol that created the intoxication, which resulted in murder.  For that reason, as alcohol is regulated, so in some cases should our freedom of speech when it comes to a globalizing it.  
In the United States we have freedom of speech, religion, and expression and we believe this is the right way.  I believe it is the right way, but unfortunately the world as a whole doesn’t share this belief.  Forcing our way of life down someone else’s throat who is neither educated enough nor prepared enough to accept it is the sum of our blessings turned to a curse and is the fundamental problem with our country’s populace.  Exercise your rights to one another not to the planet.  Most of the planet doesn’t really care and those that do want to kill you for it.  Practice some common sense.  
We should stand for our country in these horrid attacks but we should not stand for these filmmakers who intentionally or ignorantly ignited a gas trail and created an explosion.  We cannot publicly support global ignorance of any kind.  So, I for one have no problem with President Obama's apology for someone else's stupidity. I do not believe the actions of these horrible filmmakers represent our country's mentality.