28 March, 2024

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That Anti-Muhammad Film: It’s Totally Protected By The 1st Amendment

By Emily Chertoff –

Sam Bacile” and Terry Jones may be hateful, but they are not, as far as we know, criminals. The impulse to argue that repeat offender Jones in particular has somehow overstepped a line and, as commenters across the web have put it, “shouted fire in a crowded theater,” is tempting and understandable, both as an emotional response and as an intellectual one. From a distance, the line between protected speech and incitement seems blurry.

To clarify the legal status of both men’s speech, I called Jack Balkin, Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School.

 


 

As people try to puzzle out whether there is any legal action possible against either the filmmaker or Terry Jones, two ideas keep coming up. One is that the film and the promotion of the film are protected speech, and one is that this has somehow crossed a line, and that either the film itself or Jones’s promotion of it constitute something akin to that famous example of “yelling fire in a crowded theater.” What’s the line between protected speech, even hate speech, and speech that’s not protected?

Read more here 

More posts;

Video : Muhammad Movie Trailer

Islam Blasphemy Riots Now Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

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Latest comments

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    If this film maker is protected by the first amendment , then the first amendment is stupid.
    No one has the right to make a film degrading someones religious belief .
    The americans have no idea that they are the ones that foster terrorism by these acts.

    with only Al Jezzera to state their case the only way people react to things that are sacred to them is by violence .
    How many innocent peep will have to die including americans . Till this freedom of speech is protected.

    there is no such thing as complete freedom of anything . We have to live and let live.

    terry jones is a person who has got his 60 s of fame only by making this awful film

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    It is not the issue whether Terry Jones became famous or notorious with this film or whether this film is really attractive and educative etc. The point is we have films or paintings – good or bad – about all sorts of gods, messengers, etc. of various religions and almost all believe in their own God or gods. So the point is why Islam alone should be so insistent that its messenger cannot be shown in any figure, that he cannot be criticized or caricatured, cannot be made fun of, etc. If Terry Jones made a bad film with a nasty taste, why can’t followers of Islam can make a good film to educate their own people or all people about the virtues of their own religion or prophet. Why should they go on a killing spree simply because somebody depicted their prophet in a bad light somewhere in the world?! I understand there had been paintings and some drawings of Prophet Mohammed in early centuries of Islam and so why can’t it be allowed now?

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      Violent reactions of some Muslims has to be condemned, but the film is not a honest or healthy criticism of Islam or the Holy Prophet (PBUH). It attempts to demean and disgrace both Islam and the Prophet and exposes a behaviour of sadism in those involved in the production of the film. There must be international law to prevent such actions.

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        Lanka Muslim, there is a saying in Sinhalese that you can build a fence round a country, but not around one’s mouth. The best the Muslims could do is not to get provoked but ignore and practise your belief. Can you stop people talking of Islam or the Prophet?

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          YOU CAN NOT. GAMINI IS THE BEST EXAMPLE

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          Ayman, at long last wisdom has dawned on you. There are many in Mental asylums who has been blessed with Revalations. Unfortunately there has been no Mental Asylums during Prophet Mohamed’s time or treatment for Psychiatry.

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        Neither the British citizens will accept if a film producer in the Muslim world produces a film that characterizes the Queen of England sleeping with several men before and after her marriage and show her naked body in that movie.
        (pardon me if I had hurt the feelings of British nationals or in general)

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          AJ-DXB, your comparison is way out and has no bearing to the issue raised. There has been incidents reported in the media, when there was gossip centreing the Royal Family. For that matter there are soaps of cartoons and carricatures reference the Royal Family.

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          AJ – DXB, Have you been to Britain? There are many pieces of work mocking royal figures in British media. What about the pictures of Kate in a recent French Tabloid? Should all Brits go around burning down French embassies around the world in protest?

          Lanka Muslim states that the video ‘attempts to demean and disgrace both Islam and the Prophet’. It most certainly does. I agree. It is a stupid, ignorant, blatantly stirring video. It should not be given the time of day by anyone.

          But who has attracted attention to the video? Is it the Christians? Is it the Americans? For all we know, the video would have sat there with a few hits from the makers and their ignorant followers. Instead, thanks to this reaction by the Islamic community globally, it is now a multi million hit success! Exactly what the creators were hoping for…

          Why is it that so many Muslims have taken the bait? Where is the wisdom of Islam in Muslims? Isn’t the behavior of these so called ‘Muslims’, which has resulted in murder, more demeaning and disgraceful to Islam and its Prophet? These people are telling the world that it is Okay to kill in the name of their Prophet. This is a message that has been distributed around the world by the likes of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. So why is condemnation of this video so loud, yet the condemnation of the reaction of these people, or the behavior of the likes of the Taliban, and Al Qaeda, so subtle?

          I think instead of crying foul about ignorant fools who use stereotypes to insult Islam, Muslims should spend more energy criticizing the actual so called ‘Muslims’ who do the most damage to Islam. The stereotypes have been fueled by the extremists. So, instead of crying foul every time some idiot goes and stereotypes your religion, why not stand up to those who actually fuel the stereotypes?

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        Lanka Muslim UK, it is precisely because no discussion or criticism of Islam is tolerated that Islam does not progress or become tolerant. All other religions allow discussion, dissent, criticism, and yes, progress. Until Islam turns that corner and allows both religious freedom as well as freedom FROM religion (secularism), Islam will remain violent and backward and a tool for extremists. It is a problem that Buddhism is unfortunately taking upon itself here in SL, and moving backwards instead of forward.

        AJ-DXB, not only have members of the British royal family been depicted in sexually explicit films and literature, even religious figures such as Jesus Christ have been thus depicted. Have you never seen The Last Temptation of Christ by Scorsese, starring Wilhelm Dafoe as a confused and sexually frustrated Jesus? Have you never seen The Life of Brian, a comedy that pokes fun at the life of Jesus, and his death? Have you never seen or heard of the ’60s musical Jesus Christ Superstar which suggests Jesus was homosexual? I can go on with a long list if you wish. Your ignorance of reality is the perfect example of the ignorant violence unleashed in protest of this film.

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          This film might very well might have been a project by Russian Intelligence or any other enemy state to discredit USA. The credentials of the film maker are highly suspicious to say the least
          And btw Jesus Christ Superstar does not suggest that Jesus was gay but shows a deep friendship between Him and Judas, it was the other aspects such as God being responsible for His death , the suspicion of Judas whether He is indeed Son of God are what makes the movie contreversial among others

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          Of course God was responsible for Jesus’ death. There’s no controversy in that. It is the reason Jesus prayed “Father, if it is possible, take this cup away from me.” But God does not. The suggestion in the musical was that Jesus’ relationship with certain of his disciples — Judas included — was a homosexual one, though perhaps not in the physical sense. Either way, my point was that there has been no sparing of the Christian deities in literature.

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          Did you see the film? Is there any intelligent criticism of any aspect of Islam or the Holy Prophet (PBUH)? It is all full of vulgarism to cater to sex perverts. No doubt it is so as the producer and others connected have criminal records and they have cheated the actors without telling them truth of the purpose for which they are being engaged.

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          David, some very good points. I have to say the behavior of certain Buddhists in Sri Lanka of late is threatening to take Buddhism down the same sad path certain Muslims have taken Islam. Perhaps instead of controlling criticisms aimed at religion, what we need is to better control what is justified in the name of religion…

          It seems religion is fast becoming an excuse for many to feel precious and act out childishly. That is the complete opposite of what religion should stand for. Governments globally should therefore draw out new standards for behavior from religious movements (as religious movements get tax perks and other special treatment) and ensure that religious movements that fail to meet their social responsibilities are removed from ‘official’ lists of religious organisations that receive tax exemptions etc.

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          Lanka Muslim, yup, I have watched parts of the film — it’s a badly made film so it doesn’t hold my interest and I skipped a lot of it. But what it says is irrelevant. Muslims have called for the death of Salman Rushdie and other far more articulate Muslim writers because their literature isn’t tolerated. If quality criticism and analysis was permitted, films such as this would hardly be noticed, and in fact sidelined because they are of poor quality rather than because they are offensive. If you want to, you can even find pornography that features Christian deities, but have you ever heard of that? No, because it is submerged in the quality debates that Christianity and other religions allow. It is Islam’s unwillingness to tolerate any dissent, criticism, or contrary opinion that has left it open to such extreme criticism. Islam must come into the 21st century (or at least the 20th) and tolerate the secularism that our modern freedoms and laws demand.

          Naveen, I agree.

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      ISLAM IS AGAINST IDOL WORSHIP. MUSLIMS WORSHIP ALLAH WHO IS NOT PORTRAYED.
      AND MUHAMMAD IS A PROPHET LIKE ALL OTHER PROPHETS BEFORE HIM.
      WE FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS HE CAME WITH AND WE DO NOT WORSHIP HIM.
      WE DO NOT HAVE PICTURES OR PAINTINGS ETC. HE IS REVERED NOT WORSHIPPED
      WHAT WAS ISLAM THEN IS WHAT IS ISLAM NOW. THE QURAN IS A BOOK THAT HAS REMAIN UNCHANGED FOR OVER FOURTEEN CENTURIES.
      MUSLIMS DO NOT GO ABOUT DENIGRATING RELIGIONS OR THEIR FOUNDERS OR BURNING HOLY BOOKS.
      THERE SHOULD BE A LAW IN EVERY COUNTRY AGAINST BLASPHEMY.
      WHAT BOTHERS THE CHRISTIANS IS THE FAST GROWTH OF ISLAM, WITHOUT ANY MISSIONARIES.AS AT TODAY THERE ARE 2.2 BILLION MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS ARE 2.3 BILLIONS.

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        There’s no need to shout. No one here is blind. It is your Islamic preoccupation with creating laws banning everything that people have a problem with. If you will not try to enforce your religion on others by force, no one will care if you’re around. Welcome to the 21st century; the Crusades are over.

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          First of all they should find out who shot the movie

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        Ayman,

        You say Islam is against idol worship, but you fail to see the meaning of it.

        ‘WE DO NOT HAVE PICTURES OR PAINTINGS ETC. HE IS REVERED NOT WORSHIPPED’

        Not having pictures or paintings mean nothing. That was a mechanism from the prophet to try and stop him being idolised. You follow the meachnism like a law, but fail to understand the objective of the mechanism. You hide behind the word ‘revere’ and justify idolising him. If you don’t idolise him, why do you get so offended by insults thrown at him?

        Its funny, all religious leaders tried to stop their followers from idolising them. But all religions find a way to justify it by twisting words. Christians get around it by calling Jesus God (or one third of God). Buddhists get around this by building statues and claiming to do it out of love. Muslims do this by not building statues and claiming reverence is not idiolising, but getting worked up whenever someone makes the slightest accusation of the prophet.

        Goes to show how similar all religions really are! They are all about providing mass society with blissful ignorance! Though I would be the first to say that if taken in the proper context, the messages of all these ‘prophets’ or teachers are genuinely fantastic!

        ‘THERE SHOULD BE A LAW IN EVERY COUNTRY AGAINST BLASPHEMY’

        Arn’t the actions of these mobs blasphemous?

        WHAT BOTHERS THE CHRISTIANS IS THE FAST GROWTH OF ISLAM, WITHOUT ANY MISSIONARIES.AS AT TODAY THERE ARE 2.2 BILLION MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS ARE 2.3 BILLIONS.

        Probably true. But the only reason Muslims are ‘growing’ is because most Muslims have no choice, thanks to laws in Muslim countries. Kids are born into it. and even adults who don’t believe in a God are forced to remain ‘Muslim’. Christianity has lost its power to force people into their religion in most countries. That is why the Pope is so keen on ensuring Condoms are not used by their few devoted followers for birth control!

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          WE DO NOT BAN THIS THAT AND THE OTHER. WE FOLLOW THE LAWS OF GOD.GOD IS THE LEGISLATOR AND WE COMPLY. WHY SHOULD THIS BOTHER
          YOU WE DO NOT GO ABOUT ASKING YOU TO FOLLOW US.

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    America can consider their 1st amendment as a sacred cow,but the rest of the world will not,especially when US citizens can hide behind it and denigrate and offend other parts of the world.That is the crux of the matter.US citizens in the US can get the protection of the 1st amendmend ,but US citizens abroad will not get the protection from the it,as 4 americans including the U ambassador to Libya found out to their cost.

    The US has two choices,one is to amend the 1st amendment so that it cannot be used as a tool to attack citizens of world(US citizens excluded)or continue to keep it in its present form,attack the rest of the world using its protection and deploy the military abroad to teach a lesson to those who attack america.IF they follow the second option they can have continous wars in afgahnistan,iraq,libya,egypt,syria,etc etc.In fact they can deploy the entire US military in the middle east and kill two birds with one stone to taking over the vast energy resources of that region.Whoever controls the middle east controls the world,because any country grinds to a halt if energy supplies are denied to it.

    Of course the downside of that will be the body bags of US soldiers being brought back in steady procession back to their loves ones.

    You can’t have everything in life no.If you want something you have to lose something else.

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      Shankar

      Free will is a gift to us all from God. Free speech is just a small part of free will.

      Just like we have the choice to retaliate and murder, God also gave us the choice to show the other cheek. Wisdom and compassion is a gift from God. Ignorance and pride is a gift from Satan.

      Freedom to speech is not from America. It is from God. God gave us free will because God understands the importance of wisdom, over instruction. Sadly, it seems God had too much faith in us, as we are clearly far too stupid to be given free will. So we use religion to replace God’s gift of wisdom, with instructions. And as a result, we live in a world that has been dominated by war for as long as we can remember.

      Your statement about the 1st amendment completely misses the mark. You state with pride that ‘as 4 americans including the U ambassador to Libya found out to their cost’.

      The cost is not of the 1st amendment, the cost is of ignorance. Four people were murdered by a mob of lunatics over a video that they knew nothing about! That is not justice. That is not the work of God’s followers. That is simply the work of human beings fueled by ignorance and pride. The fact that you try to use these mobs as justification for arguing against free speech goes to further show how even when presented with the obvious solutions to their ills, man continue to seek the comforts of the more familiar disease of ignorance.

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        Navin,you keep on talking of ignorance of the muslims.What about provocation.Is that okay.Urinating on the koran,making films denigrating the prophet mohammed,are these okay.So if there is continuous provocations of a serious nature like these,are you expecting the muslims to keep quiet about it.So according to you the muslims are ignorant because they retaliate due to constant provocation.Is that your logic.Are you a fellow with a common sense in you or are you a eccentric type not suitable for making decisions for a practical environment.

        let us take you as an individual in a scenariolike this.Your neighbour who dislikes you
        1.threw some dog poo into your garden
        2.The next day put human excrement into your mail box
        3.The next day threw human excrement at you.
        4.The next day threw it at your wife and kids.
        5.When you confronted him and told him not to do such things to women and children he soundly assaulted you.

        Let us see what your reactions would have been in all 5 cases starting with the 1st one.Assume that when you went to the srilankan police they told you nothing can be done because he is a friend of a powerful politico.

        It is easy to preach tolerance but difficult to practice it.Let us see what a non ignorant person will do under constant and increasing provocation.

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          Shankar

          FYI, the Islamic community in New Zealand has issued a statement saying that they are not going to retaliate to these cheap videos (created by the American Bible Belt community) attempting to create disharmony in society. To me, that is the wisdom of Islam. Sad that such leadership has been less prevalent in the other communities we have seen violence from.

          If killing innocent people out of anger and hate is not ignorance, what is? What surprises me is that you do not distance yourself from these mobs. Instead, you also justify their behavior.

          The reaction of New Zealand’s Islamic community is that of Muslims who understand the spirit of Islam. The reactions of the Mobs are not. To that extent, any true Muslim should be distancing themselves from the mobs. These mobs are a bigger insult to Islam, than the video, as the video is made by those who claim to be Christian, while the mobs are those who claim to be Muslims.

          So I am not calling Muslims ignorant. Just the mobs. You can decide if the Mobs are Muslim. But I don’t think what you or I think will really matter, as only God can decide who a true Muslim is.

          Now to address your story with poo. I note that all your points are examples of actions, not free speech. I guess this is evidence of why you continue to argue with me, you simply do not have the ability to differentiate between an act, and a word.

          Does words kill? Does words break bones? What is the harm in walking away from stupid words? Or simply using words to fight the stupid words? Why do you have this urge to fight words with violence?

          The issue we have at hand is an example of stupid words being fought with stupider actions. To that extent, the Mobs are stupider, than those who made the video. Again, for the purpose of this discussion, you can decide if the mobs are Muslim or not.

          So, while your 5 examples are extremely silly and childish, in the interest of helping you become a more tolerant and responsible human being in society, I will explain to you how I would respond to these childish scenarios:

          1.threw some dog poo into your garden

          I will bury the dog poo.

          2.The next day put human excrement into your mail box

          I will politely return the excrement into the neighbors mailbox, with a Return to Sender note. However this will only be if I can be 100% certain it was the act of the neighbor (Note: I will not threaten the whole race or religion of my neighbour, or jump to conclusions as to who did it).

          3.The next day threw human excrement at you.

          This is an action that is extreme. I will try to speak to him/ her about what is going on. If I have done anything wrong to upset him/ her, I will apologise, and try to make it up to him/ her. If not, I would ask the person what it is that makes him/ her want to do such a silly thing, and see what I can do to get him/ her help with regards to controlling their emotions.

          4.The next day threw it at your wife and kids.

          Assuming I had no success at No.3, chances are by now I would have warned my whole family of the person. I probably would have also contacted community services to advice them of this person’s mental state of mind, as only a person with a mental disability would resort to such immature acts.

          If the individual does still manage to throw excrement at my wife and children, they will be also aware of this person’s mental retardation, and thus hopefully show compassion to the person, and move on. Though it is not my decision as to how they will choose to react, it will be theirs.

          5.When you confronted him and told him not to do such things to women and children he soundly assaulted you.

          See mate, this is where you just don’t get it. You have already assumed I will confront him (or her?). I would do no such thing. I would try to talk it through, and if failed, I would only try and get him (or her) the help they need. For me to act out of anger to the actions of a mentally disabled individual would only make me equally retarded.

          If they pose a physical threat to me or my family, I will take the necessary precautions to protect my family. This will include anything from getting psychiatric help for the individual, to ensuring my family are out of the path of the individual.

          My point is, the Muslim community could have reached out to the people who made this video. The makers of the video are clearly mentally unstable. Such an act would have in itself proven the superiority of these Muslims over the Bible Belt community that made the video. Instead, what the reaction of the mobs have done is to go on to show that the Muslim community is as much at risk from mentally unstable personnel as the American Bible Belt!

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          Navin,okay,okay,you want to play with words,that is okay with me,because this is not an academic discussion,but a moral one,we are talking about.If you want to you can just change the scenario to your neighbour spewing filthy abuse at you and your family every day, instead of throwing filth at you and tell us your reactions to it.Then i suppose instead of an action as you claim it becomes a free speech no?And the police as well as the community services that you are running to say he is protectd by the 1st amendment.However i don’t know how you can claim that burning the koran in afghanistan,urinating on the dead bodies of afghans and making(i emphasise the word ‘making’, which is an action called ‘producing’)a film ridiculing islam and the prophet Mohammed can be called ‘words only’as you claim and loftily proclaim that ‘words cannot harm’ or something to that effect.For your information words are the root cause of many problems and we have to pause and think before we utter hurtful words to others because it leaves deep wounds and scars that cannot be erased even after we have regretted using those words and insults.Damage done cannot be undone and the chinese wisely train their children to think carefully before making sound like empty vessels,and that is why you never know what is going on in their minds and their inscrutable faces.They can be thinking you are a arsehole while shaking your hands and being polite and pleasant to you.The american of course will say you are a arsehole straight to your face.That is why one is going down rapidly and the other is coming up rapidly.

          The crux of the matter is we diverge on one main point.You focus on the retaliation and i focus on the provocation.My theory is that without provocation there will be no retaliation.So we should address the root cause of the problem which is try to see that people live and let live in this short life of ours without unnecessarily provoking others.Your contention seems to be provocation is okay as long as you can justify it by various means such as free speech,1st amendment etc,but the retaliation to provocation is unacceptable.In a ideal world i can accept that,but we are all defective products that god has put into this world and to keep the peace in society we need certain norms of behaviour,just like traffic lights are needed to see that you can drive your car peacefully.When i see a situation where you allow one set of defective products to provoke another set of even more defective products in the guise of free speech and freedom of action etc,the red light starts flashing to me and i feel we will all end up destroying each other one day with the increasingly more and more lethal weapons we are churning out every decade.

          As for your contention that i’am not condemning the violence,you silly boy,have i got to?It is self evident isn’t it?I am a firm believer of mahatma ghandhi whose doctrine was violence begets violence.Now obama will be going after them and the cycle of violence will continue.Are we some stupid people on this blog to make self evident things like to condemn violence etc which should be taken for granted by the likes of you instead of treating us like schoolchildren.I’am delving into the deeper issues with you,not the self evident ones.It pains me when i think of that poor ambassador who looked a decent young man being killed due to the provocation by some crafty egyption coptic christian with some longstanding feud with muslims,taking refuge under the 1st amendment.If he was not protected by all these stupid laws and was immediatly put in jail for about 10 years then the next one who tries these stunts will think twice.

          I never argued with your point that the muslims who retaliated are ignorant,only that you seem to look at only one side of the coin and never looking at the other side which is provocation.

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          Shankar

          Having read your reply to the end, I apologise if my responses have been patronising. However, you have stated that I seem to look at only one side of the coin and never the other (the other being those who provocate). Well, to me, the two sides are not provocation and retaliation. And this is perhaps where our disagreement comes from.

          The two sides of concern to me are Islam and Christianity. The video was created by extremist Christians from America’s Bible Belt. It is a given that they hide behind freedom of speech (taken out of context) to provocate the Muslim community. You must realise that these Christians are genuinely jealous of the fact that most Muslims live within ‘Islamic states’, while Christians generally have to live in Secular societies. What this means is that they do not have the ‘powers’ many Islamic leaders have. Their objective of overcoming this is to provocate the Muslim community to an extent that they retaliate against all Americans, and the whole of the west, in the hope that the people in America, and the west, will return to their churches and give them back the powers they lost centuries ago.

          But such extremist Christian movements currently only represent a few. As stated before, most Christians are happy living in secular societies. But when a few Christians can provocate thousands, if not millions of Muslims, we have a situation where the goals of the extremist Christians are being fulfilled, and a snowballing effect capable of destroying peace on earth taking place. To this extent, my concern is indeed with the Islamic reaction.

          The voice of Islam has moved from those who genuinely understand the spirit of the Koran, to extremists who simply use it as a tool to justify conflict. This is undeniable as the main noise we hear from Islamic communities in the west are by the likes of those who encouraged these violent protests. That said, I did take great relief and joy from the morally superior response of the Islamic community of New Zealand to this video. All I am calling for is more of that! If they could do it, why not the rest? why are we not hearing more responses, and seeing more examples, such as that, from Muslim communities?

          Christianity does not have the power or following to generate the type of angry retaliations the Muslim communities have. At present, they are powerless, and incapable of causing a global war. They are therefore trying to stir up the Islamic community in a way that it will target all of the west. To this extent, it is very important to me, that real Muslims, who understand the spirit of the teachings of Mohammad (such as you), speak up loudly against those who retaliate, and those who use Islam to justify violence and retaliations of this nature.

          There will always be a handful of idiots in every religion. But Islam must control this to a handful, as at present, in Islam, extremism is growing at a concerning rate. It is simply not enough to just write off the extremists as a ‘few’ any longer. This is not a criticism of Islam. This is an observation.

          There needs to be more noise made by Muslims with respect to compassion and forgiveness. Muslims seem very quick to accuse America and the west, but I am sorry, criticisms of the likes of the Taliban and Al Qaeda are often less pronounced. I believe this is what is leading to many of Islamic youth, in particular those living in the west, being absorbed by violent movements that use Islam as its scapegoat.

          It is for this reason that I cannot agree with your argument that you simply ignore the retaliation in order to fight the provocation. If the provocation was carried out by many, on a few, then that will be a genuine example of persecution, and there will be grounds for challenging that in terms of self-defence. But what has happened here is that a few have retaliated many, and that many have retaliated against a much larger cross section of society than the few idiots who carried out the provocation. You must be able to see the problem with that. Essentially, the reaction of the Muslim community has been to take the bait, and create a snowballing effect.

          It is simply not justifiable to blame America, or the first amendment, for this insulting video. It was done by a handful of extremist Christians. The first amendment is there to protect the masses from dictators and war mongers. Every great idea will be used out of context, and the use of Islamic teachings by the likes of the Taliban and Al Qaeda is a good example of this. Asking for the first amendment to be changed because of this video, is like asking for Islam to be changed, because of the Taliban. It is out of context and missing the point.

          The key is to identify the few idiots who made this video, use words to show how ignorant and stupid they indeed are (though I feel the video in itself does a good job of that!), and make the video a failure by not retaliating as the makers of the video had wanted the Islamic community to retaliate. By not retaliating, the makers of the video, and the video itself, becomes a failure. Isn’t that far more satisfying, than giving the makers of the video what they wanted?

          The problem is, there are people on both sides with a vested interest in conflict. What we have to try and do is to keep those factions to a minority, instead of helping them snowball their movements, as they wish to do. Extremist Muslims have had some success of late, and the extremist Christians are trying their best to compete. The question is, can the educated masses of the world stop these extremists from ruining things for everyone else?!

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          Navin,you say,i quote” By not retaliating, the makers of the video, and the video itself, becomes a failure. Isn’t that far more satisfying, than giving the makers of the video what they wanted?”,unquote.

          I agree with you on that,but though i’am not a muslim,i believe the muslims make such a racket whenever their religion is touched because they must be fearing that if they let the provocateurs get away by not protesting loudly and often violently,then they will do things that are worse and worse to islam.It is like nipping it in the bud,but in the process they cover themselves with shit because they give the world the impression that they are a violent,intolerant people.

          Now France is having problems with a magazine publishing cartoons of prophet mohammed. Where will this end?i remember when i was a schoolboy,people liked to irritate muslims by throwing a dead pig into a mosque in the middle of the night and watching the fun in the morning in the typical srilankan humour,but sometimes it went too far and the muslims came out once with swords and after that the pranks stopped.

          I still feel that since the muslims are hypersensitive to their religion the best thing is to live and let live without provoking them,until they have achieved a maturity that can withstand such pranks.It is the prankster who is the culprit in all this in my opinion and not the muslims.

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          Shankar

          The problem blaming the Christians for the trouble is, is that the Christians actually have a vested interest in provocation. The Muslims however have little or nothing to gain by retaliating. The fact to the matter is, Christians can’t challenge Islam. But if Muslims continue to link America and the west to Christianity, and pick fights against the US and the west, then they are starting a battle with a society that has no quarrels with them, but can actually fight back,unlike the Christians. Which is exactly what the Christians are hoping for. To create a war and stand back and watch others fight it out.

          This is why I think the Muslim leadership needs to realise this, and direct their followers to not take the bait. Islam, and humanity as a whole, has a lot to lose from Muslims taking the bait of the Christians. On the other hand, these misguided and scheming Christians have nothing to lose, as in their minds, if they can actually create a war, they will define it as the ‘end days’ and die happily in blissful ignorance.

          Only we don’t want to die with them, or get dragged into their war. So I see the Muslims holding all the key cards, as they have as much to lose as us, unlike the stirring Christians, who simply want the Muslims to retaliate and target the wrong people. Simply by realising the pathetic position of the extremist Christians, Muslims should be able to ignore the insults, and literally save the world.

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          Navin,your quote”This is why I think the Muslim leadership needs to realise this, and direct their followers to not take the bait.Unquote.You are spot on on this but i don’t think that will happen.The muslim world is full of uneducated masses and and it will take a very long time for them to reach such maturity.Also there are the radical elements who take advantage of the situation and hit back at america,because of the iraq,afghan wars and the US veto power in the UN for israel.In fact i believe the attack on the libyan embassy was done by a militant group that went through the back entrance while the demonstrators were at the front distracting everyone.Furthermore you talk of the muslim leadership,many of them are also illiterate numbskulls and it will be like asking mervyn Silva and his son to educate and control sinhala mobs not to take the bait,like what happened in 1983 when they took prabhaharan’s bait.So i believe the only solution for this is to bring in some laws in the western world that prohibit offending other people’s religion,which is i believe is fair towards free speech and freedom of action,because people should not use that for purposes that they were not intended for.Laws to ban free speech and freedom of action would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater,but having laws to see that they are not misused for purposes to incite others is reasonable,and i think the French are looking into this aspect now and might come out with some laws in the future to curb this kind of behaviour by newspapers and magazines not behaving in a responsible manner.

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    The first amendment is effective only in US not in other countries of the world.

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    such ugly film should stop what ever the religion its. This American killing innocent people in the name of Terrorism and promoting anti-Islamic film so its very clear they are not against Terrorist they are against Islam and Muslim. Thats why they are targetting Muslim countries.

    Watch the good film of prophet Muhammad

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiHQ3XuGSyg

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    HOW ABOUT DENYING THE HOLOCAUST?

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    Violence is not new to Islam it had always been and remains to this day . Of all Islamic only Saladin can be called a moderate with most others being heamotamaniacs . Christianity adapted with time even as far as to integrate evolution in to its system whereas unyielding followers of Islam makes it out of date with realities of 21st century

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    Anti-Islam Film: More Unity Among Muslims and Christians.

    Nour Rida

    Immorally depicting the Prophet of Islam, Mohammad (peace be upon him and his chaste progeny), ‘Innocence of Muslims’ saw light and was aired through different online channels, by that brining millions of people to the ‘courts of popular justice’, the streets of towns and cities worldwide.

    The anti-Islam film provoked the feelings of Muslims around the globe, leading to tens of protests that called for the halt of the broadcast and condemned the profane act.

    It has been the US-“Israeli” “decades-old” key plan, to sow strife among Muslims and Christians, and lead to disunity and discord among them. Hence, the people of the region would be busy shedding each other’s blood and establishing civil wars at the time the US and “Israel” continue their usurpation of lands and riches in the world, in the Middle east region to be more specific.

    Profound respect for the beliefs, texts, outstanding figures and symbols of the various religions is an essential precondition for the peaceful coexistence of peoples, this is the exact target of the Zionist film, destroy dialogue and ties of coexistence between the people: divide and conquer.

    Unlike what the US had probably expected, Muslims and Christians of the region reflected high-levels of awareness and wisdom, pouring all their rage on the US administration rather on each other.

    Muslim and Christian religious figures alike, condemned the offense, stating that the major goal behind this anti-Islam film (and previous attacks) is sowing the seeds of strife.
    Maronite Bishop of Beirut, Boulos Matar assured that “Claims about Christian Copts standing behind the production of the sacrilegious film are fabrications that aim at causing tension and sowing strife among Muslims and Christians.”

    “The producer of this film is Zionist from the United States who was supported by a ‘gang of Zionists’ sponsoring the film,” Matar assured, adding that “The airing of this film at such a sensitive time, which coincides with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Lebanon and the latest events taking place in the Middle East region is obviously suspicious.”

    Matar, who reminded that the pontiff’s visit to the region, particularly Lebanon is a renewal for Muslim-Christian dialogue, underscored “This malicious offense wants totally the opposite, disconnection and discord between Muslims and Chrisitans.”

    “We not only denounce this act but also want the West, including the US and Europe to put laws that prevent similar offenses. We also call for punishing the committers of this crime perpetrated under the pretext of “religious freedom and freedom of speech,” he reiterated.

    The Bishop, like many other Christian figures, slammed the film and repeated “it is totally rejected to offend or assault religions in such a manner.”
    “We urge the Arab world to demand the UN Council to issue decrees that prevent such act of profanity,” he went on to say.
    Disapproving violence as a response to the offense, Matar assured that the reply should be civilized and wise.

    “The reply should be a decisive response that assures Muslim-Christian tights and common-living. Therefore, reaction should include popular civilized movements, a clear declaration of solidarity between Muslims and Christians, whether people, officials or religious figures. Also, the governments should seriously demand the creation of an international law that bans offending Monotheistic religions and figures,” Mattar recapitulated.

    According to Mattar, media and awareness campaigns under the correct guidance should play a key role in fighting this attack.

    Similarly, Tripoli and North Lebanon Mufti Sheikh Malek Shaar told moqawama.org that “This movie reflects a spiteful Zionist grudge against Islam and holds within its folds attempts to seeding strife between Muslims and Christians.”

    Unable to find the words to comment on the blasphemous movie, Shaar stated “We denounce the silence of some Arab leaders that have not said a word to censure the anti-Islam film.”

    The Mufti emphasized that Muslims and Christians should unite together to defend this wicked attempt, and avert any future attempt of offending religions.

    “I call on all the Muslim brethren in the Arab world to be mindful and conscience to the main goal behind such an attack,” he stressed.
    On the role of leaderships, Sheikh Shaar indicated that leaders of the Muslim and Arab world should strictly demand an international law that would prevent and criminalize to all those who offend any of the Monotheistic religion, book or figure.”

    Source: moqawama.org

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      Lanka Muslim

      The video has nothing to do with the US. Just because the people who made the video are American, you can’t judge all of America on that. The way you blame the US, is no different to all Muslims being wrongly judged based on the acts of AlQaeda and the Taliban.

      The US is a secular country, as such, it has little or no interest in dividing Muslims. But they do have a taste for oil, so they try their best to have a strong influence in the Middle East. That does not mean they plan to convert Muslims into Christians or destroy Islam. To think so is delusion and missing the facts completely.

      The Americans can be blamed for a lot. But their championing of human rights (though not as effectively as some would like) has helped create freer societies throughout the world. They are not perfect. But they have given the world, including many, many Muslims, a lot more than what some of the close-minded, oppressive religious dictatorships in Islamic states such as Iran have given. The number of Muslims living in the States, and the west, is testament to this fact!

      You state ‘this is the exact target of the Zionist film, destroy dialogue and ties of coexistence between the people’.

      Do you actually hear what you are saying? While the video is a stupid piece of junk, created by brain dead Christian wannabes from the Bible Belt of America, it is not the video that is destroying dialogue. The video has started a dialogue, and it is certain parts of the Muslim community that has chosen to employ violence, over taking part in the dialogue. The wiser elements of Muslim society, such as that of New Zealand, have used dialogue in return to describe the true nature of the video, and through their calm and well mannered response, also show how inaccurate the stereotypes of the video indeed are, and how wise Muslims can indeed be.

      In reality, the video only shows the stupidity and ignorance of the creators. Any fool can see that this is a video made out of hate and jealousy. The Bible Belt Christians crave a similar grip on American society as Islam does of their communities. It is for this reason that they want to create friction between Muslims and Americans. In the hope such friction will lead more Americans back to their churches! The video gave Muslims an opportunity to differentiate themselves from the stereotype presented by teh Bible Belt Community, and to show its creators in their true ignorant and devious light. But instead, certain Muslims retaliated with violence, and went on to give the Bible Belt fools what they wanted, and to show Islam in a similar light to those in America’s Bible Belt.

      It takes two to start a war. But it only requires one side to act wisely to prevent a war. What this whole episode has proven to the world is that certain elements of Muslim and Christian societies are equally war hungry. So those of us who just want to live our lives in peace, better thread carefully, to avoid these brainless, uncivilised, ignorant and simply inhumane wars of these self righteous fools.

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      Regardless of the sources you quote, Lanka Muslim, this film was not, according to credible investigators, made by Zionists or Jews. It was made by an Egyptian American Coptic Christian with a very small budget (watching the trailer of the appalling film confirms this). This man, named Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, and who uses several aliases, initially claimed, in a radio interview, that he was a Jewish American real estate agent named “Sam Bacile” and that his film had been financed (to the tune of 5 million dollars) by a consortium of Jews. This has since been conclusively been demonstrated to be a lie.

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    “And He it is Who has created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each in an orbit floating.” (21:33)
    “Until when he reached the place where the sun set, he found it going down into a black sea, and found by it a people.” 13:87 (Quran says earth is fixed and flat and the Sun has a ‘setting place’. rising place is mentioned in 13:90)

    Koranic teaching still insists that Sun moves around the earth.

    How can we advance, when they teach like this?? ;) :) ;)

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      HEMA ARE YOU STANDING ON A FLAT SURFACE OR ON “BALL”?.MUST BE A BALL
      READING YOUR COMMENT YOU DONT APPEAR NORMAL.-SUFFERING FROM IMBALANCE
      WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE HORIZON YOU SEE THE HORIZON AS A STRAIGHT LINE AND YOU SEE THE SUN GOING DOWN, SHIPS DISAPPEARING!!!!!!!!!
      DOES THIS MEAN THEY ARE SINKING OR WHAT IS THE THE SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION? THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THE QURAN TOO STATES.
      YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW THE QURAN.
      YOU IMPLY THAT THOSE WHO FOLLOW THE QURAN ARE BACKWARD.
      I CAN PRODUCE STATISTICS AND YOU WILL HAVE TO EAT YOUR OWN WORDS.

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    hema don’t misqoate the quran watch the video Quran & Modern Science

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5h6CNhtVls (Speech in English)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1shfqw_ROo (In Sinhala)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX3UHNhQ1Zk

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    My my my! Enter Hema the ignoramus! What a wonderful discovery !!! After more than fourteen centuries of its existence, Hema discovers that the Quran says the Earth is flat! How come all those Orientalists and critics like George Sale, Montgomery Watt missed this one. Hema what is wrong with 21:33? As for 13:87 and 13:90 Surah 13 has only 43 verses. This indicates that Hema has no idea of what 13:87 or 13:90 refers to. Probably copied his stuff from the dharmadveepaye blogspot! If the Quran says the Earth is flat how come the Japanese Astronomer Dr. Yoshikade Kozai, Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University. Hongo, Tokyo and Director National Observatory, Mikita said, “I am very much impressed by finding true astronomical facts in the Qur’an..”

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    @Navin Weeraratne – Who cares about the British royal family? And the britons are not interested what they are doing and its only the media that is trying to make some money out of the fotos. Maybe some of those who bacame british after migrating might be hurt. The so called royals are known for their party type lifestyle from Elizabeth to Diana/Charles to William and to Harry.
    Nobody wants to burn embassies for that matter, and of course people want more of Kate.

    @David Blacker – Let them make movies and cartoons of a hypothetical jesus of theirs. And its not the muslims or the budhists who made those movies you are quoting, its the same so called Sunday-only-catholics who made them and acted in it. And according to all the jesus movies including the Hollywood, he was crusified and dead. But as per muslims Jesus (PBUH) never died. So someone can conclude that the jesus worshipped by the catholics and the jesus known to the muslims are two different charachters. SO let them make any type of movies of their jesus, no harm.

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      Ahmed, if you’re OK with them making a movie about “their Jesus”, then you should be OK with them making movies of “their Muhammed” and “their Allah” and “their anybody”. No harm, as you said. The Bible says “God is not mocked”, and this is true. If you believe in a supreme deity, do you believe that He/She is mocked by the mockery of an insignificant human? The greater crime is to react to that mockery with violence and murder. That is surely a greater mockery of the deity you hold supreme.

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        @David Blacker
        Dear bible thumper, the reason why Muslims don’t depict the prophet, is the prophet feared that his followers might start worshipping him, instead of the one true god. He was quite right in his fears, because early Christians made idols of Jesus and then worshipped him.

        In addition, the western countries don’t have “their allah” or “their prophet” because most of them are atheists or most probs Christians, they can make fun of their own religion if so chose to do so.

        And personally speaking, I welcome the riot. It was a good opportunity to channel the Libyans anger towards the American oppression prevalent in the region. On the other hand, the film was not voicing any relevant issue, the films main purpose was to insult the core beliefs of over a billion people all over the world. I don’t recommend turning the other cheek (it sounds cowardly) but pursue justice. However, if their is no recourse to justice, then the insult must be avenged.

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          Dear Elephant, the reason Christians worship Jesus isn’t because they built idols of him, but because the Bible declares him God. If your logic is the same regarding Muhammed, why is it forbidden to depict Allah? Are they worried that people will worship him/her too?

          If your idea of justice is to run rampage like a bunch of uneducated barbarians, attacking and killing people who had nothing to do with the film, you’re basically confirming what the the west thinks of Muslims – violent little kids led by stone age priests.

          It’s a pity that my comment has clearly bounced off your thick elephantine skull. What I meant by “their” is their view of something, and it was in response to a comment suggesting that the west mock their own gods. Gods don’t belong to anyone, Dumbo. We don’t even know if they exist. So killing people over it is pretty retarded. Nevertheless, the west has made fun of “their” religions, and continue to do so. That is the freedom FROM religion that most Muslims do not have, and cannot understand.

          Films aren’t obliged to voice anything relevant. They can be totally pointless. That is the film maker’s choice. Thanks to Muslim violence and short sightedness, that pointless movie has been watched by millions of people who would never have heard about it before :D Congratulations lol.

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        We call it euthanizing idiots

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    A few years ago, post 9/11, Christianne Amanpour produced a multi-series programme for CNN which, as I recall, was called “Judaism, Christianity and Islam” – which was widely watched by billions all over the world. The idea was largely to provide a hearing to both sides of the Islam Vs Christianity debate. Many scholars from Egypt and the region expressed their views. More than one Islamic scholar was emphatic – and even sounded quite encouraged – “the 2nd Crusade has begun” While the Western Govts may take a more accomodative view their security/defensive agencies, who operate independently though under the control of their Govts, are aware of this glaring reality and are taking suitable action to protect the interest of their own countries and their citizens – particularly in view of the savagery unleashed in the Middle East in recent times. Though much of the media makes it that there was no WMD in Iraq these Western Agencies had information/evidence Saddam Hussein smuggled them out to Syria before he went into hiding. Now Assad threatens he will unleash WMD/chemical weapons.The USA and the UN have threatened serious response.

    Assad’s forces choses breadlines in the morning where they bomb hundreds of their own men, women and children waiting to collect their morning bread. In Homs, Alleppo and elsewhere children and “enemies of the State” have their throats slit, as a matter of course. To the rest of the civilised world, this is medieval barbarity in the name of religion. Wars are fought by most countries under civilised rules since WW2. Apparently, some societies that lay lofty claim to religion, their “superior culture” and their omniscient “God” (all others to them are infidels and should be killed) Their own is indisputably right and cannot be challenged. In recent years what we have seen in the Arab region is interpreted by many experts as pay-time to 9/11 – a serious injury to the American/Western pysche.This continues. Saddam Hussain, Gadaffi, Osama Bin Laden – who openly contributed to the 911 attack – have been done away with.
    Like the hunt for the Jewish Genocide, that continues to the day. The hunt against the perpetrators of 9/11, these sources insist, will continue.

    So it is best some of these societies come to their senses and help make the world peaceful for everybody. Blaming Samuel Huntington’s
    “Clash of Civilisations” or VR Naipaul for pointing out the truth will not help. It has to be a quick passage from the medieval world and savagery to the modern world of peace and religious co-existence.
    Gadaffi was butchered by his own people in a process this despot lost after narly forty years once he lost control of the Council of Tribal Elders. The brutal murder of Ambassador Stevens in Benghazi will not go unchallenged – from what one gathers from these sources.

    Senguttuvan

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    The prophet himself requested that he not be depicted because he saw what happened to Jesus p.b.u.h – the prophet was concerned at the way early Christians made idols of Jesus p.b.u.h and then worshipped him as god.

    The main purpose of the movie was to insult the prophet and Islam. The first ammendments says that one will not incite a riot through speech.

    On the other hand, people expect Muslims to turn the other cheek, when their core beliefs are insulted. This expectation is cowardly at most. The threat of violence always silences the most idiotic minds.

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      Re:’The threat of violence always silences the most idiotic minds’

      Silencing minds? Isn’t that the same as killing?

      Violence is an action of those with idiotic minds. And the type of nonsense Mr Elephant seems to be going on about seems to confirm this…

      And Mr Elephant, you seem to have forgotten the p.b.u.h on your previous posts. Oh, and the followers of the prophet has indeed started to worship him, they just say they don’t, and use it as an excuse to further act out idiotically. Violence is the idiot’s response to a challenge.

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    Sure a good run on Religion and thanks for your contribution. David Blacker I appreciate your stand against Bigotry. I wish if I could have exchanged some views on the War without bias to understand International Intrigue. Anyway will leave it for the future. Whatever said and done my hand of friendship is there for you mate. No hard feeling whatsoever. Forgive me if I was a little too harsh. Take Care.

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    WarElephant: “And personally speaking, I welcome the riot.”

    As long as it is your personal opinion we have no problem with that. You have the right and freedom to express your views and opinion. But let me remind you that your thinking is in total contrast to the teachings of Islam. Islam does not teach us to run to the streets chanting slogans every time some fool draws a stupid cartoon or shoots a dumb film. No amount of insulting cartoons or films can harm the honor, status and recognition of the Prophet (pbuh). Period! The Companions of the Prophet who loved him the most never took to the streets protesting or demonstrating and causing violence and mayhem whenever enemies of the Prophet mocked or vilified him. Once his enemies threw entrails on his body when he was in prostration. But the Companions never resorted to violence and bloodshed. Do you believe that we love the Prophet (pbuh) more than his Companions? What a joke! We are not even worth the dust that used to gather under the shoes of the Companions of the Prophet.

    You see these macho guys shouting slogans and marching in the street protesting and demonstrating. They are spewing anger and venom at the men who have insulted the Prophet. But this macho guy’s love and affection for his Prophet ends right there. You try to wake him up at 5 in the morning for prayers he will not get up! So much for following the teachings of the person you claim to love the most.

    If you can’t be an ambassador of Islam then please don’t be an obstacle!

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