Why Insulting
the Prophet Always 'Pays Off Big' (Le Quotidiend’Oran, Algeria)
"Crass
manipulations of the sacred inevitably end up succeeding. All that is needed is
an obscure individual to decide that he wants to become famous by planting the
seeds of insult and denigration of the Prophet of Islam. From across the
Atlantic to the far-reaches of Asia, the terrain is fertile. ... the worst part
of this entire affair is our propensity to fall into the coarsest of traps thanks
to an incapacity to put reason over emotion - and emotional manipulation."
Running man: Having picked up a tear gas canister thrown by police, a man prepares to wield it back in their direction, on a road leading to the U.S. Embassy near Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Sept. 13.
The short video clips available of Innocence of Muslims speak for themselves when it comes to showing
how unfathomably stupid the film is. But its writer, an Israeli-American real
estate developer who said he wanted to support Israel, knew full well that when
it comes to tarnishing the Prophet's image, he could count on the tendency of large
numbers of Muslims to become rapidly inflamed. The film, which would have been an
absolute washout, is now known around the globe. And just like those who
preceded him, from the Scandinavian "cartoons"
to the dust-up
with the rag Charlie Hebdo,
the marketing scheme is simple and dreadfully effective. One need only insult
the Prophet and manage to broadcast the slander over the Internet - where some
believe they are fighting a jihad, and wait for the chain reaction.
[Editor's Note: It is now known that the writer, producer and
distributor of the Innocence of Muslims
is NakoulaBasseleyNakoula, a Coptic Christian immigrant from Egypt living
in Cerritos, California. At the moment, despite widespread global suspicion, there appears to be no evidence to suggest that Israelis were involved in the funding, production or distribution of the film].
Of course, we all know that in the process of this
irrational and violent reaction, people may die - Arabs, Muslims, Christians,
Europeans, or Americans. But that only contributes to the power of marketing "Islamic
rage" or "Islamic fanaticism." Insulting the Prophet pays off big.
In a supposed attempt to criticize RachedGhannouchi, who won the Tunisian
presidential election, a Parisian newspaper chose to depict him as the Prophet.
There was no report to go with the cartoon, since evidently, basing criticizism of
an Islamist politician on his ideas or plans doesn't sell. It is better to
attack the Prophet as if he were a candidate. The same was the
case for the Danish cartoons.
If they chose to, the cartoonists could have taken it out
on bin Laden, but they knew this wouldn't have resulted in a reaction that
brings celebrity. Depicting the Prophet of Islam as a murderous terrorist -
that’s a good trick. It’s foolish but unfortunately, it works! We know, too, that
the loudest Islamists, not the most sensitive or clever, will silence anyone
who seeks to diffuse the situation and ignore the morons. Unfortunately, from experience, it has become clear that reasonable men and women can do nothing. All they
can do is witness the repeated failures of their calls for reason. Crass
manipulations of the sacred inevitably end up succeeding. All that is needed is
an obscure individual to decide that he wants to become famous by planting the
seeds of insult and denigration of the Prophet of Islam. From across the
Atlantic to the far-reaches of Asia, the terrain is fertile.
In the case of the film, the
provocation does not appear to have taken hold until a clip was translated into
Arabic and posted on the Net. And now, because an anti-Islam Coptic living in
the United States decided to promote the film, Islamists in Egypt have seized
on it to blacklist the Coptic community.
Posted
by Worldmeets.US
And among the Egyptian protesters outside the American Embassy,
poisonous words are spreading, reflected in the fires of fitnah (upheaval, chaos, or civil unrest). The
deaths of the American ambassador and his staff are an injustice. They were not
responsible for the calculated provocation - successfully orchestrated it has
to be said - by an Israeli on a mission for Israel. They, too, are victims of the
weapons spreading throughout Libya and the Sahel since the NATO intervention.
But the worst part of this entire affair is our propensity to fall into the coarsest
of traps thanks to an incapacity to put reason over emotion - and emotional
manipulation.
