In place of the U.S. flag, the protesters tried to raise a black flag with the words "There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger", a Reuters witness said.
Once the U.S. flag was hauled down, some protesters tore it up and showed off pieces to television cameras. Others burned the remains outside the fortress-like embassy building in central Cairo. But some protesters objected to the flag burning.
Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet to be offensive.
"This movie must be banned immediately and an apology should be made," said 19-year-old Ismail Mahmoud, a member of the so-called "ultras" soccer supporters who played a big role in the uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak last year.
He called on President Mohamed Mursi, Egypt's first civilian president and an Islamist, to take action, without giving details of the film that angered him or other protesters.
About 20 people stood on top of the embassy wall, while about 2,000 protesters gathered outside. The demonstrators were mainly supporters of Islamist groups or "ultras" youths.
Rafik Farouk, 38, an Egyptian Christian, also took part. "I am here because I am Egyptian and reject anything that insults Islam or anything that sparks division in Egypt," he said.
Washington has a big mission in Egypt, partly because of a huge aid programme that followed Egypt's signing of a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The United States gives $1.3 billion to Egypt's military each year and offers the nation other aid.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in Washington said the wall was breached and the flag removed.
"We are obviously working with Egyptian security to try to restore order at the embassy and to work with them to try to get the situation under control," she said.
Following the protest, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said it was committed to giving all embassies the necessary protection.
The U.S. embassy had put out a statement earlier on Tuesday condemning "misguided individuals" who hurt the religious feelings of Muslims or followers of other religions.
"We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others," the U.S. embassy said in its statement.
MUSLIM ANGER
Although it was not clear which film prompted the protests, Egypt's prestigious Al-Azhar mosque and seat of Sunni learning condemned on Tuesday a symbolic "trial" of the Prophet organized by a U.S. group including Terry Jones, a Christian pastor who triggered riots in Afghanistan in 2010 by threatening to burn the Koran.
According to the website www.standupamericanow.org, Jones and others were due to take part in an event on Tuesday - the anniversary of the September 11 attacks by al Qaeda on U.S. cities - called "International Judge Mohammad Day" in Florida. It was due to be carried live on the Internet.
Some activists had mentioned Jones in calls for a protest.
Egypt's Coptic Orthodox church also condemned in a statement some Copts living abroad who it said financed "the production of a film insulting Prophet Mohammad", a state website reported. About a 10th of Egypt's 83 million people are Christians.
Protests have become a common feature in Egypt since the uprising that ousted long-time U.S.-ally Mubarak. When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited in July, after Mursi was sworn in, her motorcade was pelted with tomatoes.
Some demonstrators shouted slogans against her and some slogans were against Islamists, reflecting perceptions of some opponents of Islamists who have swept Egypt's presidency and a parliamentary vote that Washington helped Islamists to power.
In Mubarak's era, protests were usually swiftly halted by an often brutally efficient police force.
One slogan scrawled on the walls of the embassy, which is near Tahrir Square where Egyptians revolted against Mubarak, said: "If your freedom of speech has no limits, may you accept our freedom of action."
In another incident prompted by similar religious sentiments last month, a lone man attacked the German embassy with homemade nail bombs and a hammer, cracking glass at the entrance, after he read a report about a protest in Germany where demonstrators paraded caricatures of the Prophet outside a mosque.
No one was injured and there was no serious damage to the embassy during the incident.
59 comments:
There is Plenty of ethnic and religious persecution going around in the world. There have been many wars fought over religion and superiority of racial groups, so i Don't think it is necessary for us to bend over backwards to accommodate the Egyptians who got their "feelings hurt" over some movie. I don't know about their country ,but we in the United States are entitled to freedom of speech. sure, its okay to voice your opinion on the movie saying its against your religious beliefs or if you flat out didn't like it. But I don't think it should have been taken so personal.
These Egyptian protested reacted childishly. From other sources, I learned that the "film" in question was nothing more than a Youtube-type video. The protesters claimed that the video would be aired on 9/11, which was clearly not the case. Had they done their research before lashing out violently, they'd find the US Government is committed to free speech and have nothing to do with individuals that make videos and upload them to the internet. They'd also find that "the United States gives $1.3 billion to Egypt's military each year and offers the nation other aid". What they did was far more disrespectful. While I personally don't believe in ridiculing others' religions, I definitely don't believe in tearing up and burning an American flag. What the did will only spark more anti-Islamic propaganda.
Freedom of speech is a universal human right, but the desecration of a religion is an immoral action. This particular abuse of such an embraced right can cause uprisings, as is happening now in Cairo. While both sides are using their inalienable right of expression, people like Terry Jones abuse it. The "International Judge Mohammad Day" is a tactless motive, a terrible offense to the Muslims, and an act that will surely rise to protests. One has to keep in mind that Islam is such a deeply rooted religion and it has been fully embedded into the lives of persons that follow it that any insult can cause an upheaval, particularly if they are exposed to radicals, such as 'ultras' youths. The burning of the American flag due to an insult of the prophet Mohammad seen in a film might be seen as an overreaction, but it has to be understood that these people feel strongly about the situation, and they see this as a huge affront to their religion. Everyone has the freedom of expression at their grasp, but not everyone will treat it like what it's meant to be treated.
The fact that a film can cause so much damage is amazing. The internet never fails to amaze me in the way that connects all of us all around the world. But for a man to make a film that insults another religion is absurd. Especially for a man who is ignorant and more and less uneducated. As human beings there should be a mutual respect and tolerance for all religions and that man was anything but that. But just because that is what he believes does not mean that is what our whole nation believes and for the Egyptians to cause so much mayhem because of it is unreasonable. The Egyptians took that film out of portions. Yes it was inappropriate, yes it was insulting, and yes it was disrespectful but for one man’s actions to justify the whole country is irrational. Especially when the Egyptians did not have the full facts, they acted impulsively causing Chris Stevens to lose his life. The whole thing to me is just misguided people who should have had the facts first before making an attack on the U.S embassy. Hopefully soon this can resolve and we can move on.
9/11 is always a touchy time. I know that Americans are still hurting from 9/11 and thats understandable, but that doesn't give us an excuse to be hurtful to other people and religions. I think the people in Egypt had a very good reason to be mad. They as Muslims are being discriminated against just because of what a few extremists did. One small group does not make the stereotype for a whole religion and culture. However, they could have expresses their anger better. When they tore down the U.S. flag, it only fueled the fire and solidified the ideas that some Americans already had about Muslims, that they can't be trusted. Its a vicious cycle, and an ending is far away.
The increasing violence, compared to past events, of Egyptian protesting is utter chaos. Obama did the right thing by increasing security at all embassies, however, it is a shame that lives had to be lost to recognize this issue. I find it bizarre that the article didn't reveal the name of the American film that outraged so many protesters. Many Egyptians obviously are a great deal more sensitive than most Americans regarding religion. When a movie mocking God is released, we typically don't do anything about it. In contrast, Egyptians are insulted if Mohammad is even mentioned! I believe it's a bit dramatic, if you ask me.
The increasing violence, compared to past events, of Egyptian protesting is utter chaos. Obama did the right thing by increasing security at all embassies, however, it is a shame that lives had to be lost to recognize this issue. I find it bizarre that the article didn't reveal the name of the American film that outraged so many protesters. Many Egyptians obviously are a great deal more sensitive than most Americans regarding religion. When a movie mocking God is released, we typically don't do anything about it. In contrast, Egyptians are insulted if Mohammad is even mentioned! I believe it's a bit dramatic, if you ask me.
In my opinion this is important in a sense that it shows people that there ARE boundaries. No matter if you can see them or not, this video was just another misuse of the our rights. Of course in our country freedom of speech is something we are given undoubtedly every single day, but no one would have thought it would have started an uprising. The government has nothing to do with this, but also cannot do anything about the situation. The U.s. Embassy Stated "We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others" which is as close they can come to an apology for something they did not commit. I am anxious to see the events to follow, with the embassy tagged with the phrase "If your freedom of speech has no limits, may you accept our freedom of action." we know the protestors are to be taken seriously...
*grabs popcorn*
Although it was ignorant of the producers to not know that any depiction of the prophet is an insult (they should not have filmed before researching at least a little) the response was not very civilized either. Granted, from what i can tell these are extremists, but they are deliberately insulting a country and starting violence. I don't believe they thought their actions and their consequences out at all because we are known for our military and weapons arsenal. I think that we are at a tie here, The producers were not informed, so now all of America is being frowned upon, and the group of extremists are not a good representation for all people of Muslim faith, but they will probably all be blamed anyways as soon as this hits pop culture.
We as Americans, in our constitution it states that we have freedom of speech and religion. That pertains to the United States only though.The film that insulted the Muslims may have been offensive, but here in the U.S. we have the right. I am not saying this film is right though. There are Muslims in the U.S. that may have been offended and there are Muslims in other parts of the world who are insulted as well. I don't blame them for being upset. There is always some movie or something out that will offend people.But tearing a flag down and burning it, may have been a bit far. You can't blame the country for what a few individuals created.
We can't be sure if the film produced in the United States was actually insulting or not. If it was then the United States should respect their religion and try to alleviate the situation peacefully. Its not right to use freedom of speech to criticize religion. But whether the film was insulting or not, one thing that can be concluded is that the situation could've been handled better. Yes it's okay to protest freedom of speech, but it's a bit excessive to tear and burn the United States flag. There have been instances where this has happened in the past. There are multiple riots, which can become deadly and people could get hurt. The right thing to do is to try to talk things out. For all we know the movie could just be a misunderstanding and it could just be that they unintentionally insulted them. Either way instead of resorting to violence in this situation I think it would've been better to peacefully talk things out.
The Egyptian protesters act of tearing and burning the U.S flag was very disrespectful and uncalled for. Even though the United States produced an insulting film, it doesn’t mean the Egyptians should respond in such a harsh manner. This act by the protesters was very rude and unnecessary over a film that the Muslims found offensive.
I have nothing against freedom of speech, but I think it is wrong to disrepute a country with destruction. I completely understand standing up for what you believe in, yet I think it needs to be done in an appropriate manner without aiming to offend another. Since Egypt had an issue with the film that insults their beliefs, I do not see a problem with them expressing their concern; however, their demonstration was certainly the wrong approach.
The protesters went too far in my opinion. I think they should've protested because their views and religion were being discriminated upon, but burning the flag was over the top. That is one of the most disrespectful things they could've done. It doesn't make Egypt's reputation better in our eyes either. I don't think they understand the amount of help we give them. The U.S. could easily stop funding their military and also stop providing them with other things that are essential. Now I understand that the embassy insulted them and I think that is their fault and they need to apologize. It was just blown out of proportion.
"Wow." Just, "Wow." After reading this, these were the only words that I could mutter. I (cannot believe that I am saying this because I absolutely LOVE AMERICA and am enormously appalled by these horrendous acts committed against our flag) can fathom their reason which drove them to commit this atrocious deed. They were offended by this film. Period. Whether it was intended or not to have had this affect is unknown. But this is how it was taken. We should not try to stimulate others with mocking; we tend to forget that the society in which the people of Cairo live is not like that of ours. America's atmosphere is pretty laidback and so we should not assume that something so adored by others can be perceived as humor in the slightest sense. I am a proud American citizen that is piously stanch, and although I would never burn down another country's flag to make a point, for fear that my actions would add to the dispute because my actions, with sacrilege, were committed with cruel intentions, would never EVER wish that anyone satirize my religion. I would hope that others would treat my opinions with respect; "Do unto others as you wish to be done unto you."
Although the Islamic and Christian faiths have a long history of violence, independently as well as against one another, I don't believe this protest was directed at the right people. I believe this protest would be justified if it was ONLY directed at the people making the film. This article does not provide information on the directors and producers, just that they are from the U.S. Many people in the U.S. may not agree with the works they are creating but ARE being affected by the protest. Burning the U.S. (or any country's flag) is a huge disrespect to that country and it's citizens, whether they share the same religion or not. I strongly believe that being from a country, U.S., Egypt, India does not neccesarily mean that you are Christian, Muslim, or Hindu ect. Recently, we have just acknowledged the 11th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 and many Muslims have again stated that they are not to blame for the attacks, it was "the Muslim EXTREMISTS" and this translates back to me personally. I am a proud Christian but I do not agree with a film that completely insults other people's beliefs because technically that's not Christian behavior(but that's another argument...). As I was saying, this is just one of many controversies between the rwo religions however, the two countries should not be to blame whether a country of set religion or freedom of religion.
It should be a goal of the U.S. government to try to make sure there is not going to be a tip in the scale like an insulting movie to invite Muslim extremetists to have a reason to create such civil unrest. Especially around 9/11. This paints a bad picture for every party involved. It makes the U.S. look insensitive and haughty and all Muslims look belligerent and dangerous. Safety precautions need to be taken on both sides and a sincere and speedy apology in some form needs to be presented to the Middle East.
In my opinion this is important in a sense that it shows people that there ARE boundaries. No matter if you can see them or not, this video was just another misuse of the our rights. Of course in our country freedom of speech is something we are given undoubtedly every single day, but no one would have thought it would have started an uprising. The government has nothing to do with this, but also cannot do anything about the situation. The U.s. Embassy Stated "We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others" which is as close they can come to an apology for something they did not commit. I am anxious to see the events to follow, with the embassy tagged with the phrase "If your freedom of speech has no limits, may you accept our freedom of action." we know the protestors are to be taken seriously...
*grabs popcorn*
I believe it is wrong to pick on another's preference or opinion about anything. Each individual has their own rights, thoughts, and freedom of religion. It was very childlike for Terry Jones thinking it is needed for them to riot or hate us more. He is a pastor, I'm about 100% sure he would be very very protective of his God.
Now for the Egyptians to act like this is very reasonable but at the same time absolutely unecessary to break out into full mobs and stat hating the U.S. This video was set up mainly by a group still holding something against Islamics. We fund the Egypt military 1.3 billion dollars to help them sustain their well being. Grant is right the U.S. could just stop providing them with goods. The American flag being burned was probably the most important thing that happened during their riot. I think the protestors that objected to the incident concerning the flag were very respectful toward our country not bringing the religion blow up into this. All I know is, is that Egypt and the U.S. were both at fault. Two wrong do not make a right. Apologies should be proposed from both sides and that video should never be brought into our alliance with Egypt.
While everyone has the natural right of freedom of speech, there are still some actions and topics that should be avoided because they are considered too extreme. While the riot and burning of the American flag was inappropriate and childish, it was also ignorant and immoral for someone to produce a video that would deliberately insult an important prophet. While both sides are defending their actions by labeling them as expressions of freedom of speech, it was just wrong for the Egyptians to desecrate an American symbol of freedom and then proudly flaunt their act on television. But Egypt isn’t the only one to take matters out of hand. Terry Jones, for example, abuses his right of freedom of speech by initiating an “International Judge Mohammad Day” is a direct serious offence to Muslims and is sure to start more riots and protests if something as foolish as a youtube video resulted in the burning of an American flag. In order to keep a sufficient level of peace between the two countries (and any country for that matter), there should be a tolerance and understanding for each religion or beliefs in order to avoid further confrontations.
What is so striking to me about this whole situation is that Egypt's people want to blast and hate the US at a very extreme and almost barbaric way,meanwhile they sure will accept our money. They will sure accept our aid, I say Egypt is lucky as well as the Middle East that American forces haven't retaliated yet.
The entertainment of today should be completely ashamed for provoking such a ridiculous situation. Of course, Muslims are going to be angry because you are portraying the prophet, Muhammad, falsely. If this were Jesus, many Christians would be angered also. Therefore I believe that the Muslims took the right kind of action to get the attention of the American people. Like the saying goes, “actions speak louder than words” and by the Muslims burning the American flag, will indeed receive the attention needed. I think this situation teaches the American people, that the facts on certain detail should be entirely correct instead of half the truth. The Muslims are not angry because we got the little facts correct but that we took the truth and only presented one side of it. Muhammad is a very important man in the Koran as Jesus is to the Bible. Just as Jesus would never be portrayed falsely our media should not present Muhammad in an invalid light either. Nevertheless, the moral of this story is, being honest in all things that you do will bring great results.
In America, in our Constitution, the number one amendment states that we are entitled to "Freedom Of Speech". I think the Egyptians took this way to personal. Yeah they have their beliefs and their values and their rights, but they didn't have to cause such a riot so quickly. I haven't seen this video/movie or heard what it's about, but the U.S. wouldn't completely attack another religion. Egypt blew this way out of proportion.
There is no such thing as a "universal freedom of speech". In an ideal world there would be, but in reality there is not. The fact that they burned our flag on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11 is disrespectful to all the americans who died that day. I don't believe in putting down other religions so I in no way agree with that movie but i also dont agree with burning the flag on such a sensitive day. Also, in the same chain of riots one of our ambassadors was killed.
There is no such thing as a "universal freedom of speech". In an ideal world there would be, but in reality there is not. The fact that they burned our flag on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11 is disrespectful to all the americans who died that day. I don't believe in putting down other religions so I in no way agree with that movie but i also dont agree with burning the flag on such a sensitive day. Also, in the same chain of riots one of our ambassadors was killed.
There has always been controversies over different religious beliefs or other ethnic backgrounds. I don't understand why the Egyptians took so much afence to this movie. We don't even know what the movie is called, maybe if we knew, we could get a better feel for why it caused such a big problem for them. The riots and protest that happened were blown out of proportion, we didn't have to retaliate after them.
There has always been controversies about different religious beliefs and other backgrounds. Although that is how it is we don't ever think that a movie could cause such a big problem for someone else. I don't understand why that took such effence to this movie. Maybe if they article would have mentioned what the movie was we could get a better feel for why thy reacted the way they did. Also I think we could have happened the riots and protesting differently, we didn't need to stoop that that level and retaliate in any way, as of burning their flag too.
I find it ridiculous the way the Egyptians reacted. I realize that it may have been offensive to their people but that gives them no right to do what they did. We give a lot of support to their country and for them to outburst over something our government had nothing to do with is crazy. I can understand because its their belief and that they're trying to stand up for it but there are so many ways that this could have been handled that didn't lead to such extremes. They talk about how this film is disrespectful but what they did by burning our flag and attacking the embassy was, in my opinion, much more disrespectful.
Although what the protestors in Cairo did by burning the American flag was under no circumstance acceptable, the US should have made sure there was no kind of retaliation like the video. America just did the same thing they did to us, back to them and it solved nothing, it simply created more violence. There is so much hate in the world already and the Islamic riots and our retaliation just added to it. The Eqyptians took this protest a bit too far though. They are they ones that started this 'video battle', so how could the ynot expect some sort of hostility.
Here in America we have a bad habit of not being sensitive to other countries ideals. Alot of our t.v shows show this such as "South Park,Family Guy etc," If someone in Egypt had made a movie that showed lets say Jesus Christ in bad light then we would also be up in arms. So American filmmakers need to tread soflty on any movie character with this much importance to a group of people. But even on the other side i still think the crossed the line with the desecration of our flag. I know they were upset but still there are better ways to display your discontent.
I find this whole issue absolutely ridiculous. The Egyptian's overreacted over a simple film or youtube video. There are always going to be people who are going to persucute you or mock what you believe. That does not give you the right to act like a child about it. Plus, in America we have freedom of speech, so even though the Egyptians may not agree with what was said in the video, does not mean that we should try to make them happy by taking the video down or erasing it. Although Religious values should not be mocked. The Egyptians shouldnt be taking their anger out on America but only the film makers who thought that it was okay to release a video that mocked another's beliefs.
I find this whole situation utterly ridiculous. The Egyptians should not have reacted in such a way over a simple film that was created. There is and always will be people who will mock or persecute you for your religion. That does not mean that every time that happens, you should react like a child. In America, we have the freedom of Speech, with that being said, People will always say something that you might not agree with. Im sure the Egyptians didnt agree with what the video said but that doesnt mean that they have the right to react irrationally. I believe that how the Egyptians reacted was far more disrespectful than the film itself. They should not be getting angry with America but with the film makers themselves. Although I do not find it okay for someone to mock anothers beliefs. I do not think that its okay for the film makers to release a film that would mock anothers religion. This whole situtation is really ridiculous.
Many people of the world are uneducated and rather ignorant when it comes to religions and ethnicties of the world. This ignorance is represented in this article both by Islamic Egyptains and the American people. The protestors in Egypt blamed the American people as a whole for their ridicule and disrespect for their religion, when really only a percent of people are the ones to blame for their ignorance. I believe that people should become more knowledgeable of other religions and cultures before they start demonstrating large, profane protests that could easily be tamed or avoided if everyone took the time and had an open mind about world religions.
Many people of the world are uneducated and rather ignorant when it comes to world regligions and ethnicities. This article represents the ignorance of both Egyptain Islams and the American people. The protestors blamed the American people as a whole for the ridicule and disrepect for their religion when really only a percent of Americans are to blame. I believe the world should become more knowledgeable of world religions so that large profane protests such as this one can be tamed or even avoided.
Middle Eastern countries have a negative perception of the United States and this just made it worse. I feel like protesters are using any little thing they can find to stir up protests against the U.S. Although the film insulting Mohammad was wrong, our entire country should not have to suffer for one citizen's poor decision. The actions of few can effect a whole country, the United States, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, etc. This situation has created a stereotype of Middle Eastern citizens as oversensitive and terrorist-like. For example, actions and remarks such as "if your freedom of speech has no limits, may you accept our freedom of action" as well as burning the U.S. flag. These reactions cause widespread resentment among cultures. Sure, we have freedom of speech and religion but that shouldn't be taken advantage of by causing unnecessary uprisings or violence around the world.
Middle Eastern countries have a negative perception of the United States and this just made it worse. I feel like protesters are using any little thing they can find to stir up protests against the U.S. Although the film insulting Mohammad was wrong, our entire country should not have to suffer for one citizen's poor decision. The actions of few can effect a whole country, the United States, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, etc. This situation has created a stereotype of Middle Eastern citizens as oversensitive and terrorist-like. For example, actions and remarks such as "if your freedom of speech has no limits, may you accept our freedom of action" as well as burning the U.S. flag. These reactions cause widespread resentment among cultures. Sure, we have freedom of speech and religion but that shouldn't be taken advantage of by causing unnecessary uprisings or violence around the world.
It is unfortunate that such radical actions happened as a result of a relatively small matter. Religion, despite whichever group, is continuously bombarded by other people. This just so happened to be the one that pushed the wrong button. I think that this was partly due to the fact that the movie was made by certain people who were already infamous in the Muslim community. If radicals want to do radical things, they should be prepaired for a radical response. This is obviously what they received. Both sides need to be prepaired with humble and honest apologies if we are to move past this humiliating event.
The extremities of burning and tearing the American flag were hugely unnecessary. I understand how the protestors acted on their freedom of speech to prevent division in Egypt, however I agree with the article when it says, “[w]e firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others”. I find it ironic that the film insulting the prophet Mohammad was aired on 9/11. But this doesn’t make it okay to insult other countries. I find that conflicts resolved by peaceful reasoning are much more effective than insult after insult.
The United States government should make sure that what is seen by the public eye is apporpriate and in no way insulting. Protesting and violence is very common in Egypt therefore the government should be aware of this and act gracefully as they refer to any subject that could be of issue. The Muslims religion is a very sensitive subject espically at a time like this near 9/11 and should all togathger be avoided. To secure saftey the United states should make a sincere apology before this conflict escalates. Our reputation is at risk for others to percieve us as arrogant and insensitve.
As Americans we bypass other religions that are not pertaining to us in a non insulting way. This incident shows that many Egyptians are more protective of their religion. With this in mind, i believe that the U.S Govenment should have considered the showing of the film especially during the time of 9/11. This was very inappropriate and just caused chaos that was unneeded. Both sincerity and apoligizes need to be made.
When religion is mentioned in any way, someone is bound to be offended. The Egyptians, in my opinion, are overacting. I can understand being upset with a movie over religion but the fact that they protested and burned flags is unnecessary. I think the Egyptians basically bit the hand that feeds them by burning our flag. America does so much for the Egyptians, it amazes me that people would do something so disrespectful to a country that helps their military so much. The U.S embassy stated, 'We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.' I think this statement was perfect way to apologize for the movie. I think America shouldn't do anything else to aide the hurt feelings of the Egyptians.
The producer of the movie should not have made a movie like this, but if he were to then he should have at least gotten some background information on the Islamic religion. The producer was just showing what he wanted to, freedom of speech, which in America is a big thing that is valued. The Egyptians should not have reacted this way to the film. To show that their feelings were "hurt", they decide to burn the U.S. flag, which was not a mature thing to do. By burning the flag they made a bigger issue on this. They shouldn't have taken this matter so personally. If they wanted to do something then they should have gone and seen someone big in power to go talk to the Americans, but they shouldn't have taken this personally.
The producer of the movie should not have made a movie like this, but if he were to then he should have at least gotten some background information on the Islamic religion. The producer was just showing what he wanted to, freedom of speech, which in America is a big thing that is valued. The Egyptians should not have reacted this way to the film. To show that their feelings were "hurt", they decide to burn the U.S. flag, which was not a mature thing to do. By burning the flag they made a bigger issue on this. They shouldn't have taken this matter so personally. If they wanted to do something then they should have gone and seen someone big in power to go talk to the Americans, but they shouldn't have taken this personally.
This is such a terrible story to read about! And it seems that the protestors that did this seem to have no remorse. It is completely ridiculous that we give Egypt over a billion a year in aid and they cant even protect our embassy's. I have not seen the video that created such caous but the people who made it did abuse there freedom of speech. It is troubling that some Americans cannot respect the ways of others and are miss using their rights. The protestors burned and ripped our flag, but I don't see them burning the monney we support them with.
In my opinion there shouldn't have been this big fiasco over a film. Taking everything to this personal level can obviously have a bad effect. In this country we preserve the right to say what we want. I understand that words can be hurtful, but as a country the Egyptians shouldn't have attacked the Christianity faith as whole. People are going to discriminate against whatever they don't believe in. As a whole, they should've handled it properly.
The tearing down of the American flag was a bit drastic. Granted, the movie probably was insulting to the Muslim religion they still shouldn't have torn down the flag. Freedom of speech is one of America's unalienable rights that we are granted everyday of our lives. In addition, America offers over $1.3 billion to the military and other forms of national aid in order to maintain the peace between Israel and Egypt
Although it is not respectful to denounce other people's religion and beliefs, it should not be responded to with violence and acts of terror. I believe that they should have disregarded the video because it truly doesn't matter what other people think or say as long as they abide by their religious rules. If they believe that the depiction of the prophet is sacrilegious then they should personally abstain from it rather than control what other people say. Everyone has the freedom of speech, and they are rightfully utilizing it. Even though it is offensive, any sort of reaction seems too dramatic and unwarranted for. Especially ones that are unduly harming innocent people who are not involved and desecrating buildings that are symbols of peace.
Freedom of speech is freedom of speech. With liberty for many there will always be those who choose to abuse it. The producer/director was a complete idiot for making this movie, which had no purpose other than to offend and mock a faith that many hold dear to their heart, but the fact is, with our freedom of speech, he had the right to do it. It is wrong to attack somebody elses religion or beliefs, and it is wrong for ignorant people like Terry Jones to purposefully hurt and offend others because he doesn't like what they believe. But things like this, although regrettably, happen all the time from every side. It in no way justifies going ballistic in the streets and attacking people who have nothing to do with the offensive situation, or desecrating something that is representative of an entire country. Especially not on a day that said country, who also provides $1.3 billion in aid to yours,is mourning the biggest tragedy in its recent history. It is so tragic that groups of radicals like these have the power to shape ideas about Islam as a whole, and it is extremely important for people to realize that this does not represent Islam or Muslims. But these radicals believe that there will be no consequences for their actions, and they need to know that that is not the case, if we want to prevent someting like this from happening again. In Libya a mob attacked a US consulate for what they say was the same reason, and four Americans were murdered, including ambassador Christopher Stevens. Not only was he murdered, but his body was paraded around. No matter how offended you are by a stupid movie, NOTHING JUSTIFIES THAT.
In conclusion, the American people MUST remember that these are extremists and not representative of Muslims at all, and to not be hateful or discriminatory because of a misconception. But those responsible for these disgusting and cruel acts must be punished so that anyone who thinks of doing this again will know exactly what they'll have coming.
I think they should have realized that the US Government had nothing to do with this video that's being filmed. They reacted passionately without thinking it through. That being said, I do agree that they have a right to be mad about it. It is disrespecting Islamic culture. But they should have reacted less of a violent approach.
I do not agree with either side. Religion has always been a complicated topic to discuss. The governement tries to keep religion away from politics and thats exactly how it should be. The movie does insult the prophet and shouldn't be aired because it could cause tension or problems between the two countries. However, I do not completely agree with te actions of the muslims. Other actions could have been taken and would of kept peace between the two countries. In my opinion both sides were wrong and the whole situtation could have been avoided. The government may have had the option to simply apologize for the movie, but since the muslims have angered many civilians the government has no choice but to take action.
Webster defines freedom as "the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action." This article returns attention to the ever present question of where the boundaries of freedom lie. The original kindling of this conflict came from people acting within their freedom of speech. The response to this furthered the flames of conflict as a group of people acted upon their belief that freedom of speech is synonymous with freedom of expression. As onlookers, the readers of this article are each given the chance to evaluate these expression of liberties and personally draw on their own beliefs. I believe that the difference between these two offences is the effect they have. While the movie may have been perceived as offensive and possibly vulgar, the actions of the Egyptian protesters were directly associated with the installment of terror. The boundaries of freedom should be limited by the consequences of actions, and the intent of the actions.
Reading this story, made me realize how far apart we, western culture, are from arabic culture. The first thing that comes to mind is freedom of expression. This is a concept that in western culture is prevalent and we emphasize how important it is for us to be able to say what we think, regardless of how it might offend somebody else. The idea that a movie regardless of its content, should not be shown, is censorship. This idea of freedom is taught to us from a very young age, and allows us to listen to others opinions without violence or threats of any kind. In this case the attack by the mob in Egypt is because they are offended for a movie that in their opinion insults their religion and Muhammad. Their actions are motivated by their intolerance and not to take into consideration other peoples’ points of view. Therefore I believe they are hypocritical because they violently stormed our embassy and burned our nations flag. And thus it makes it very difficult for us to have sympathy for their actions. They have no desire to understand our culture and beliefs. This is a fundamental difference between our cultures and is one that leads to distrusts and lack of support of their cause.
Reading this story, made me realize how far apart we, western culture, are from arabic culture. The first thing that comes to mind is freedom of expression. This is a concept that in western culture is prevalent and we emphasize how important it is for us to be able to say what we think, regardless of how it might offend somebody else. The idea that a movie regardless of its content, should not be shown, is censorship. This idea of freedom is taught to us from a very young age, and allows us to listen to others opinions without violence or threats of any kind. In this case the attack by the mob in Egypt is because they are offended for a movie that in their opinion insults their religion and Muhammad. Their actions are motivated by their intolerance and not to take into consideration other peoples’ points of view. Therefore I believe they are hypocritical because they violently stormed our embassy and burned our nations flag. And thus it makes it very difficult for us to have sympathy for their actions. They have no desire to understand our culture and beliefs. This is a fundamental difference between our cultures and is one that leads to distrusts and lack of support of their cause.
The Egyptians had their reason to do what they did, but it wasn't because they they knew the truth, it's because they assumed the Americans were discriminating them and their beliefs. Yes, we are granted with and believe in free speech, but it does not mean to use it as uncivilized people. The choice Terry Jones made goes to show that we are no different from them, but it should be a lesson learned that no one comes out a winner. The Golden Rule will always remain the reason why there is conflict between nations. What happened on 9/11 should remain within our country, a day to commemorate the people lost. We shouldn't use it as a reason to keep picking at old wounds.
I don't know why they are so upset about this one film, but if they think this is okay, I don't know why they think it's so wrong to just make a movie. It's freedom of speech. I guess they have it there too if they're mobbing and what not. I think they kind of overreacted. Doing things like this isn't going to help anything. And they're definitely not going to be getting that "apology". If they were really upset about it, they should have handled it way differently.
The events that are occurring in the Middle East as a result of this film are a huge overreaction. The fact that the people of Egypt feel the need to start riots because of this film bewilders me. The United States government gives large amounts of aid to Egypt's military each year which makes these riots all the more disgusting. These acts show a huge amount of disrespect to the US in the face of all of our aid.
Though many of the Egyptians have found it offensive that there were some individuals in the U.S. whom have posted said move to the web, where is the movie now; what was the name of this movie? Since the U.S. sends Egypt a lot of money per year to help in their military forces, I believe the Egyptian people shouldn’t have behaved the way they did. Sure said movie was offensive, but there is a difference between getting angry, and getting infuriated and going overboard with the way the situation is handled. Unfortunately, in my opinion, protesting is the only way this country is able to get their “opinion” across as an entire group – they don’t have the resources we have to actually voice our opinion. Being a corrupt country that they are, there have been many protests and many incidents that have been over something so small, to me, this is just another one of their cries.
Freedom of speech is freedom of speech. With the widespread liberties that we as Americans enjoy, abuses and conflict are sometimes sadly inevitable. However, an entire country cannot be held accountable nor should it apologize for one stupid, ignorant man independently exercising his right to express his (the director's) opinion. Granted, that opinion is convoluted, ignorant, and the movie created was inappropriate and blatantly offensive. It is a shame that an abuse of free speech like this had to occur; it is clear that his motivation behind the movie was purely to offend Muslims and incite anger or worse. Nonetheless, the responses of the mobs in Egypt and Libya were beyond unacceptable. Humiliating a country that provides such a substantial amount of monetary aid to your country is not justified by being offended by some independently made crappy little "movie". Every religion and belief is and has been attacked or mocked, and it comes from every side. No one group is innocent of this, and if every person went ballistic in the streets and attacked innocent people and burned flags because they were offended the chaos would never stop. So for this group of extremists to think that it was okay for them brutally murder four innocent Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, and expect no consequences is something I think that cannot be tolerated. The people responsible for this should be punished so that anybody who thinks of doing something like this again will know exactly what is coming their way.
It is tragic that a group of extremists can shape so many peoples opinion of a religion. They in no way represent Islam or Muslims and it is very important for people in America and around the world to know that. I hope that those responsible will be held caught and punished for the horrible and disgusting things that they have done, but I also sincerely hope that this conflict will not lead to increased misconception and generalization of Muslims as a whole.
Even though we as Americans have the freedom of speech doesn't give us any right to make this kind of video. Some people may never agree with other religions or views on certain things but that doesn't mean you can go around making these terrible videos. Even though it was a very bad thing of a simple few Americans to do it still doesn't explain the thought the Eygptians had to respond in such a terrible manner.
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