With the US ambassador to Libya killed in Bengazi and a protest of 2,000 in Cairo raising an Al-Qaeda-associated flag above the US embassy on the anniversary of 9/11, it is clear the reaction to a small video published online yesterday has got out of hand.
The YouTube clip of a film named “Innocence of Muslims” has been reported in the (rumour-filled) Egyptian press to have been the work of Koran-burning Florida Pastor Terry Jones and Coptic Egyptian Christians, who make up about 10 per cent of the population in Egypt. It was in fact produced by an Israeli filmmaker named Sam Bacile. “Islam is a cancer,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “The movie is a political movie. It’s not a religious movie.”
The film itself is comic in its ridiculous condemnation of Islam, almost a satire of far-right Christians’ worst stereotypes about the Middle East. It features a cast of orange-looking Americans with large stick-on beards attacking Christians and burning down their houses.
Scenes of the Prophet’s life take place against a static computerised desert backdrop and include historical incongruities such as plastic-looking weapons taken from a range of periods and women combining their hijabs with low cut mini-dresses.
The film accuses Muhammad of paedophilia, extortion, womanising, drinking wine, being gay (“Is the master dominant or submissive?” a follower asks, while Muhammad replies “both – remember the night at the gym?”), terrible grammar “how pleasurable is our Islamic ways”, and generally portrays him as being a murderous brute. A 102-year-old woman with an extremely strong New York accent claims “never have I seen such a murderous thug as Muhammad”, before being dragged away attached to a camel’s leg.
Other figures from the Koran, such as Bilal, make an appearance. Although a freed slave of Ethiopian descent, known to be a companion of the Prophet famed for his beautiful voice, he is here presented as a large overweight white man with strange markings on his face.
The film has caused conspiracy theories to fly. Was it a plot by Morsi to provoke the US on the anniversary of 9/11? A Salafi plan to spread sectarian tensions? Protests are rumoured to intensify in Cairo today, with the violent football fans the Ultras Ahlawy heading down to the embassy. Sheikhs in Egypt are already calling for the revocation of citizenship of Copts living abroad.
All over a film that is so ridiculous it seems like a parody of itself. Much like the Danish cartoon controversy, something trivial has highlighted extreme underlying tensions and insecurities. They say that the offensive cartoon caused widespread anti-government protests in Libya. The film may also have brought to the surface tensions which will be harder to bury.
“Man + X = Islamic Terrorist” one character in the film philosophises in a characteristically nonsensical scene. What is X, we are left to wonder. By this film’s estimation, the most obvious conclusion would be fake tan, a cheap beard, and some strong glue.
Content from our partners
Related
