The Innocence of Muslims: Youtube Movie

Screenshot of the Innocence of Muslims Youtube movie

By Brian Chekal

As the US mourned together on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which killed thousands of innocent Americans, the Muslim world seemed to attack in fury. In addition to the hundreds those died on September 11, four more joined their ranks as large crowds of Muslims all over the world attacked America once again. US Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who had risked his life for the freedom of Libyans from the oppressive regime of Gaddafi, was killed, along with three others who had been shot to death as they were trying to rescue the ambassador from the madness of the mobs. The most trouble factor in regards to this incident was the fact that all of this unnecessary bloodshed started simply because of one video.

The Innocence of Muslims, a low quality movie made by Sam Bacile, was made for one sole purpose, to ridicule Mohammed, the primary religious figure in Islam. In the released movie trailer, Mohammed is portrayed not only as a fraud, but a child molester and mad man as well. Although many of the Anti-Jewish and Anti-Christian messages that are preached by radical Muslims go unnoticed in the Middle East, this single childish video moved many Muslims into violence. Its sole purpose, to infuriate Muslims, was complete as thousands upon thousands rioted in front of US embassies in over 20 Islamic countries worldwide and called for the film maker’s public execution. Many scaled the walls and burned US flags. However, it did not end there, as the Libyan embassy faced an onslaught of gunfire and grenades that lead to 4 innocent deaths. As a direct result, Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed from smoke inhalation, a man President Obama praised as “a role model to…the young diplomats who strive to follow in his footsteps.” Three other US citizens were killed in an heroic effort to save the ambassador. Unfortunately, these deaths were not an accident. United States intelligence officers have largely concluded that the attacks on the Libyan embassy were not simply a riot of angry Muslims, but rather a large scale preemptive strike against the embassy in response to the recent assassination of Mohammed Hassan Qaed, a prominent leader of Al-Qaeda. The presence of automatic weapons as well as rocket propelled grenades serves to highlight the fact that these protestors were not just run of the mill terrorists.

Eventually, the scene mellowed out, but left a still smoldering wreckage of what once was a proud embassy. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aptly responded with the statement, “The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: “There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.”

Brian ChekalB

Brian Chekal