The middle-east is up in arms in anger, chanting anti-US slogans.
Muslims across the world have been deeply offended. US embassies are
being targeted across the globe. Hard-line clerics and leaders from
across the spectrum are rising up, inciting hatred and exhorting
violence. Scores of people, including an American Ambassador, have
lost their lives. And in the US, the issue has taken centre-stage in a
presidential race that is just gathering steam. Sounds like a premise
for a cheap paperback thriller. But no, this just happens to be the sad
and infinitely more alarming reality of the times.
And even more painful and ridiculous is the fact that had this been a
real paperback thriller, one wouldn't have to see a low budget, asinine
excuse of a movie at the root of it all. Yet here we have it. Critics
are unanimous in their opinion that for the movie "Innocence of Muslims"
to be protected under the spirit of artistic freedom, it has to first
qualify as "art", which it doesn't in any way. This was surely a hack
job done with the sole purpose of raising hell by hurting the religious
sentiments of what amounts to almost one-fourths of humanity.
This whole incident has raised memories of the Danish cartoon
incident from the mid-2000s. That incident also involved western media
depictions involving the Islamic prophet. While it can be argued that
the Danish cartoons could at least claim some form of legitimacy in the
whole 'freedom of speech and expression' debate, the "Innocence of
Muslims" can have no such claims. Both stepped on the religious
sentiments of muslims in a big way. Any pictorial depiction of the
Prophet Muhammed is forbidden in Islam.
And Islamic culture doesn't have the same historical experience that
evolved the western culture from a religious Christian society to a so
called "secular society." A natural part of that transition in the west
was the questioning of everything, even religion and god, and reducing
what was till then sacred, to something open for ridicule. In the
middle-east, Islam is still a vital aspect of their social, cultural and
political life. So even something as trivial as a cartoon can become a
very sensitive issue, especially if represented in the right (or wrong)
way.
In this instance too, that seems to be happening. While the identity
actual creators of the movie are still shrouded in mystery, it is clear
that right-wing Christian leaders in the US like Terry Jones (of the
Quran burning fame/infamy) are promoting this movie as part of their
politics, and to stay in the spotlight. On the other side, as in the
Danish incident, it seems to be the radical leaders and clerics who seem
to be gaining the most leverage out of this issue.
Here you have a area that is already in turmoil, with revolutions and
civic instability persisting across the board. The last thing that one
needs for peace and stability in such a place is a new issue for people
to get angry at the west and protest. And that is exactly what is
happening there now. For the powers that be, anything that keeps the
people distracted from the real things that need to be addressed is
often the best formula to stay in power.
The situation in the US is as complex as in the middle-east. Since
this was apparently a private funded project, the government has been
quick to censure it, with Ms.Clinton categorically castigating the film.
What with the tragic death of their Ambassador and the persisting
threat to their embassies worldwide, Americans can hardly be expected to
like this whole incident. But truth be told, it may not be all that bad
for them in a way. For President Obama and his re-election bid, the
international incident has shifted the focus away from a troubling
home-front plagued by economic woes. His Republican opponent Mitt Romney
has surely played a weak hand by jumping onto the Anti-muslim film
controversy bandwagon in his criticism of the incumbent opponent. Obama
would any day welcome a shift of focus to foreign affairs, arguably his
stronger front.
Some conspiracy theorists would go even further to claim this as a
full blown plot by US government to distract attention at home in an
election year, and to push for more military intervention in the middle
east. While that may seem a bit too far-fetched for most of us, any
incident that increases tensions between the West and the Islamic world
is surely far from welcome for most of those who wish for peace. But as
we all know very well, not everyone profits from peace.
Those who benefit from chaos, violence and hatred will always try to
use anything to further their goals, be it in the West or the East.
Here, it is the devout muslim who is unwittingly becoming a pawn and
being sacrificed for their stratagems. And that is the greatest tragedy
of them all.
source : http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/preetam-kaushik/the-innocence-of-muslims-controversy_b_1886755.html
Tag :
Controversial,
Movies
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