Fire through a YouTube film
by Barrister Amjad Malik
Whilst the world condemn the insulting video at YouTube regarding Prophet (PBUH) by an American citizen, i too condemn it in the strongest of terms and demand the strongest action by USA, YouTube administration, OIC and united nations to avoid it escalating and any clash of civilisation.Countries seriously must note that several attempts ranging from knighthood to Rushdie and from Pastor Terry Jones attempts to burning Quran to Danish cartoons which all contributed to stir violence and divide and hamper interfaith dialogue between different faiths & ancient civilisations. These frequent attempts to divide communities and calm must be preached with befitting physical actions to address Muslim’s concerns about these insultive actions in the guise of freedom of expression.A stand emanating from a bigger forum like OIC @ UN for a greater understanding and international law to discourage, deter & defeat individual minority who stir violence whether it is Salman Rushdie, terry Jones, and now the latest culprit (Sam Bacile). Western media reported that in the summer, a theater in Los Angeles screened a movie to which hardly anyone came. It was a clunky film filled with scenes in a desert and in tents. The characters were cartoonish; the dialogue gauche. The actors who'd responded to a July 2011 casting call thought they were making an adventure film set 2,000 years ago called "Desert Warrior." That's how Backstage magazine and other acting publications described it. The American-made movie, it turns out, was hardly an innocent desert action flick.
Instead, the movie, backed by hardcore anti-Islam groups in the United States, is a tome on Islam as fraud. In trailers posted on YouTube in July, viewers saw this: scene after scene of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) as a negative character.
As outrage spread, the film's origins still remained murky. Whose idea was it? Who financed it? At the heart of the mystery was the filmmaker himself, a man identified in the casting call as Sam Bassiel, on the call sheet as Sam Bassil and reported at first by news outlets as Sam Bacile whether American or Israeli not confirmed yet. But federal officials consider that man to be Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, who was convicted in 2009 of bank fraud. A federal law enforcement official told western media outlet that the FBI knows the identity and has made a contact with the filmmaker because of the potential for threats to him. But he is not under investigation, and that’s pity. Factual background aside, there is nothing concrete coming out from OIC, West, United Nations and saner countries to stop this protest escalating. People in Muslim countries are on street agitating and it does not seem to be stopping here. New law and forum will contribute to calming things down and avoid getting things out of hand & the Muslim community ridiculed internationally by west and press for intolerance and or threatened of retaliation by theologians. Commonsense must prevail in this case and protest must be peaceful and other side must take the protest befittingly as a mark of sheer dissent and unacceptable behaviour of individuals to test their freedom limits at the altar of Muslim sensitivities & justice must be seen to be done with Muslim community and Muslims in general.
Now decision is in the hands of super powers whether test the patience of Muslims and decide between one man's freedom against over one billion's religious sensitivities. Interfaith dialogue paving way of a new charter a new ' Al-Hudabiyya,style ' charter or clash of civilisation. I will request my fellow brothers to use right to protest in maximum numbers but with 'zero' violence or damage to the public property. little the damage, more the numbers, and it will make a strong political point of 'law & forum' demand internationally to apprehend and curb the frivolous hate igniters.
Barrister Amjad Malik
Chair Association of Pakistani Lawyers (UK)
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
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