In the recent
past, world has not only witnessed several protests but has also honored the
power of immense public dissents where irrepressible human sentiments and
emotions have brought out a new revolution, new changes and somewhere new
democracies. Expressing distrust in form of a mass protest is not a new
phenomenon as it is being happening since the ages. It’s by nature a human
characteristic to express his negation, by words or by actions, to particular events,
policies or situations.
Bygone the time
when protest occurs through the medium of human interaction, now in modern
techno world protests ignite briskly and sometime quiet precipitately. Should
we thank numerous burgeoning social media sites which so far have been proved
quiet instrumental to various protests of recent years or time has come to
introspect the way a protest can unnecessary be betided based on certain
delusively maneuvered social campaigning, especially when the issue is related
to pious emotions and sentiments.
Recently several
protests have been broken down against a derogatory trailer of a movie called
“Innocence of Muslims“ which has not only sparked the violence protest
throughout the Muslim world but have also caused death to dozens of innocent
people and created unheralded chaos in
almost all the regions where it has happened, so far. It all began when an Egyptian origin man
Nakoula Basselet who presently reside in California, produced the movie with an
intention to slander the Prophet of Islam by obscure dialogues and images
portraying him as a fraud, a womanizer and a pedophile. He has later uploaded
the trailer of movie on YouTube which is a video sharing social networking
site, owns by USA based Google. Uploaded morphed video has not only seems to
distress the Islamic sentiments but also clashes with the basic belief of
Muslims of not to depict the Prophet Muhammad portrait in any manner.
Despite several
requests from US and governments of other countries and as well as by activists,
Google seems reluctant to remove the clip from its site abiding by its
policies; however video has been blocked now in some of the affected countries.
The nexus of Google and the producing studio with America, the protest was
started in Arab countries peacefully in front of American embassies to register
their anger against perpetrators and to submit the solidarity for Prophet. Key
demands of protesters are immediate removal of video and the severe punishment
for the real culprits. Unfortunately after the assassination of Libyan
ambassador including three other members of US staff, violent protests sparked
throughout the Muslim World and casualties reached to dozens while hundreds
succumbed to injuries within protesters and security persons. The story
reminisce the unrest provoked by the publication of Danish cartoons in 2006 and
burning of Quran last year in USA that also triggered the violence protest.
Violent outrages
against the USA establishments through damaging of properties and clashes with
security person cannot be justified at any ground as the government has nothing
to do with the offending film. President Obama denounced the blasphemous attack
on the honorable icons of every religion and accounted the movie as an insult
not only to Muslims, but to America as well. Its embassy in Pakistan has
flashed the TV ads to all leading channels in Pakistan about the policy of USA
to respect all religion. Government has requested Google to remove the video
but can't force to do the same as it seems to restrict the freedom of
expression and against the ethos of their society. Defending the right to
practice the free speech and not banning the video by government, Obama
explained in the UN session on 25th September 2012 “Here in the United States,
countless publications provoke offense. Like me, the majority of Americans are
Christian, and yet we do not ban blasphemy against our most sacred beliefs.
Moreover, as President of our country, and Commander-in-Chief of our military,
I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will
always defend their right to do so. ”The right of free speech or expression of
views - if incite hatred against any one - can be questioned on many grounds,
hurting of sentiments seems like physical or financial abuses. Instead of
terming it as free expression or open criticism, Muslim world treat such
blasphemy on Islam and Prophet as a part of propaganda raged by West to defame
their religious values under the influence of Islamophobia.
Mocking is an
act of individual bank fraud convicted criminal who even kept the participating
actors in illusion that this film, entitled as Desert Warrior, is for an
ancient incidence of Egypt, while actors are unaware about his intention to
link with Muhammad. He later dubbed the voice and inserted the dialogues in
reference to Prophet and Islam. Such protest giving him free publicity to make
him as a celebrity like was happened in the past with Salman Rushdie who was
not well known before the protest against his book ‘The Satanic Verses’. Muslim
should restrain from such provoking protest to stop more casualties and to
restore the peace in their respective regions. In the whole life of Prophet
Muhammad, He was teased, pelted with stones and abused verbally, physically and
psychologically, garbage was thrown to him but He never retaliate, curse or
instruct to his followers to go on rampage. Prophet personality is above to
such propaganda and blasphemous depiction. Further in an open social media
environment, flow of the information cannot be controlled and tracing of
culprit’s identity is not feasible every time, therefore, emotional sentiments
should not be turned into violence by the provocation of a person or tiny
group. Such postings could repeat to distract the peace for getting the
political benefits.
Protest
certainly is an instrument of fundamental right to express the distress, but
indulging with violence to show the anger diverts the objectivity that leads to
the protesters as mainly losers without keeping any effective impact on their
cause. Best way to deal with such incitement and provocation are the ignorance
and evasion instead of being provoked so that culprits can't get the free
publicity and the bloodshed can be prevented. Discussion between various faiths
with mutual respects and presenting of true character of religious icons will
definitively helpful to minimize such incidence. Government and UN bodies need
to be urged to frame the laws against blasphemous expression on repute religious
icons and books of all faiths which are sensitive to the sentimental hurt of
followers. Religious and community leaders also can play the pivotal role by
speaking out forcefully against the violence in such protests.
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