Following the release of an anti-Islamic video by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula in early September, Egyptian citizens attacked the United States Embassy in Cairo. Angry civilians pulled the American flag down in protest over the video, which depicted the Prophet Muhammad as an adulterer and a lunatic.
Junior Arash Jalali-Sohi disagrees with the message of the video and explains, “I think the video is outrageous. It denounces the validity of the second largest religion in the world.”
Junior Abdo Boukhalil says, “It’s morally wrong to make videos like that… that ridicule others [and] cause innocent people to get hurt… but I don’t think the government [should] censor videos like that.”
Since its release, the video has been banned in Egypt and Libya among other nations. Many wonder why the United States government has not taken similar steps.
U.S. Government teacher Frederick Chancellor explains, “We have freedom of speech in this country… and [to censor] would mean to take away some of our freedoms.”
Sophomore Masao Dahlgren agrees and says, “The first amendment should always be a top priority. The video could be categorized as hate speech, but I don’t think that it would be right for the government to actively censor. It would kind of be hypocrisy to go back on our basic rights.”
Even though the United States government has not censored the video, it does not mean the government supports the video. President Barack Obama has spoken out against it and said, “I have made it clear that the United States government had nothing to do with this video, and I believe its message must be rejected by all who respect our common humanity. It is an insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well.”
However, numerous protests against the United States have taken place in countless cities around the world. One reason, Chancellor explains, is the differing levels of freedom in the United States and other nations.
“Because they do not have the same level of freedom of speech that we have, I think it’s difficult for people in those countries to understand why the [U.S.] government has not taken action to stop that from being on the internet. Many have grown up in countries that are pseudo democracies if not outright dictatorships, so for them to try to understand our government and how we operate is very difficult. The assumption is that the leaders here are as dictatorial as the leaders there,” says Chancellor.
Nonetheless, the protests in response to the video are a troubling sign for an already unstable region with often-times strained relations with the United States. Many wonder whether the turmoil of the Arab Spring will evolve into an Arab Winter. During the Arab Spring, a period of political turmoil that began in Dec. of 2010 in the Middle East, several leaders, most notably Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, were ousted after numerous demonstrations and often times violent confrontations. However, one glimmer of hope lies in the fact that the leaders of multiple newly formed governments, including Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, have proven themselves capable enough to speak out condemning not only the video, but also the violent protests with notable effects; they have further reassured their commitment to the security of U.S. embassies and consulates.
In the United States, these series of events have impacted the upcoming presidential election. Republican candidate Mitt Romney has voiced his disapproval of the president’s response claiming, “It’s disgraceful that the Obama administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.” These remarks actually refer to a statement issued by the U.S. embassy in Cairo, while President Obama’s response did indeed condemn the acts of violence.
In terms of its ramifications for the future, the video has made significant impacts such as further establishing the power of digital media in influencing popular sentiment and straining America’s reputation in the world.
Dahlgren points to the long history of Arab relations with the West and states, saying, “U.S. interventions in the past… [have] really damaged the U.S.’s reputation already, and this is another thing to add to the list. The Middle East has always had this animosity towards Western culture in general… [going back] to the far past even to the Crusades.”
While the uprisings against America in response to the video are concerning, the greater question of whether the Arab Spring governments will be able to govern effectively and quell civil unrest remains to be seen. If they do not, the world may be on the brink of another long season of revolution.
