On June 23, the controversial American satirical film, Innocence of Muslims premiered to a private audience at the Vine Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Two clips were posted on YouTube on July 1.

By September, the amateur low-budget film had been dubbed into Arabic and brought to the attention of Muslims by Egyptian blogger Morris Sadek. Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi called on the US government to sue the film producers whom he referred to as “madmen”. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said the filmmakers had committed “a devilish act.” The film’s trailer resulted in protests throughout the Arab world, namely at the US embassy in Cairo and the US consulate in Benghazi, which resulted in the killing of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others.

For those who have not seen the film, it is indeed highly offensive to the Prophet Mohammad and his companions, who are held in high esteem by around 1.6 billion Muslims, accounting for over 20% of the earth’s population.

One scene, for example, shows him authorizing the looting of cities, the raping of women, the taking of slaves, and the sexual assault of children. Another shows his wife, Hafsa Bint Omar (daughter of the second Muslim Caliph), beating him with a shoe because she found him in bed with another woman. He runs around the room in circles, and says that if she stops hitting him, “I will make your father Caliph.”

The film, in short, has nothing to do with freedom of expression. It is in poor taste, of poor quality, and a deliberate insult to Islam and Muslims. No doubt about that. It is utterly unacceptable, however, that so much violence should erupt because of an obscure movie which would have remained obscure had Muslims not created such a fuss about it.

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