Florida Christofascist Movie Causes Assaults on U. S. Embassies

There are times when it is difficult to restrain my contempt for today's far right Christians who - along with their Islamic equivalents - seem to be among the vilest elements of humanity.   Among the many liars and total douche bags that make up the "godly Christian" crowd, Florida pastor Terry Jones holds a special place of distinction.  Yes, the same Terry Jones who burned a Koran back in 2011 which caused a riot in Afghanistan that claimed the lives of 11 innocent people.  The Atlantic looks at the movie and the assaults on America's embassies in Cairo and in Libya after the Egyptian media got its hands on an anti-Muslim video being promoted by Jones and similar Christofascists.  Here are excerpts:

Right now, protesters in Cairo are gathered at the U.S. embassy compound, where some have scaled the walls and pulled down the American flag, with which they've replaced a black flag bearing the prayer "There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger." They say they're protesting an American film that insults Prophet Mohammed. About half an hour in, someone took a photo that appears to show some of the protesters, of which Reuters estimates there to be 2,000, setting off celebratory fireworks.

The movie is called Innocence of Muslims, although some Egyptian media have reported its title as Mohammed Nabi al-Muslimin, or Mohammed, Prophet of the Muslims. If you've never heard of it, that's because most of the few clips circulating online are dubbed in Arabic. The above clip, which is allegedly from the film (update: Kurt Werthmuller, a Coptic specialist at the Hudson Institute, says he's confirmed the clip's authenticity*) is one of the only in English. That's also because it's associated with Florida Pastor Terry Jones (yes, the asshole who burnt the Koran despite Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' pleas) and two Egyptians living in the U.S., according to Egyptian press accounts.* The Egyptians are allegedly Coptic, the Christian minority that makes up about a tenth of Egypt.

Obviously, there's a lot to this story that's still unclear. What we do know is that some members of Egypt's sometimes-raucous, often rumor-heavy media have been playing highly offensive clips from the highly offensive film, stressing its U.S. and Coptic connections.

As the fervor has built, both the Coptic Church and the U.S. embassy to Egypt issued formal condemnations of the film. The latter, made just this morning, began, "The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims." The statement also noted the September 11 anniversary, adding, "Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy."

What exactly does the film say? It's still not clear, but it appears to compare Mohammed to a goat and Muslims, according to one translation, to "child-lovers." .   .   .   .  A number of Islam's founding figures, including the prophet, are accused of homosexuality and child molestation.

The movie, like Terry Jones himself and his earlier Koran-burning stunt, have received attention far beyond their reach, which would be modest if not for obsessively outraged media. And yet, here the movie is, not just offending apparently significant numbers of people, but producing real-world damage.

 

No doubt Jones and his cohorts will claim that they are merely exercising their right to freedom of speech.  One can just imagine the shrieks, screams and flying spittle if a Muslim produced movie treated Christ anywhere close to how Mohammed has been depicted.  Frankly, I wish a way would be found to prosecute the bastards for interfering with national foreign policy or security matters.