Force-Multiplying Outrage!
The revulsion to the anti-muslim film called ‘Innocence of Muslims’ generated widescale protests throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The film being made in the US it sparked furious protests outside US diplomatic enclaves and other American symbols in many countries where one has to contend with anti-US feeling barely below the surface even at the best of times. Mostly violent, the rage in the streets show no signs of abating. The brainchild of a 55-year old Egyptian-American Copt, the amateurish film was posted on the internet under several titles triggering outrage among muslims across the world for mocking the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Using the pretext of the blasphemous film, the US embassy in Cairo and the Consulate in Benghazi were assaulted on Sept 18 by gunmen, the attackers were certainly not genuine protestors but militants. Four Americans were killed in Benghazi including the US envoy to Libya. Ambassador Chris Stevens was very well respected and liked in Libya, particularly in Benghazi where he had served as Consul General supporting the uprising against Gaddafi. His death evoked outrage among the “great silent majority” in Benghazi who chose not to remain spectators on the sidelines any more, on Sep 23, 2012 hundreds of protesters stormed the compound of the Ansar al-Shariah Brigade militia suspected to be behind the attack. The mob evicted the militiamen and set fire to their building, subsequently attacking the Benghazi headquarters of Rafallah Sahati. Opening fire, the besieged militiamen killed several largely unarmed protesters, injuring at least 20. The aroused populace forced the militias to flee the city. Anti-Americanism?
The Federal Interior Ministry in Pakistan had issued a warning of possible attacks on US Consulates and Embassies in Pakistan in the wake of anger over the outrageous film. The letter warned of possible suicide bombings and use of remote control devices. In futile effort to either control or politically capitalize on the rage against the video, the govt designated Friday (Sept 21) as a public holiday so that people could demonstrate love of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and also condemn the blasphemous video. As anger ran out of control on the streets the govt’s move backfired. The regime should have anticipated that the protest would be hijacked by vested elements, the day turned ugly, with unbridled violence, killings and arson across the country. Hundreds of protesters, some of them armed with automatic weapons, clashed with police who fired tear gas and live ammunition in the provincial capitals and in Islamabad. With 23 people killed and more than 200 injured, the violence spiraled out of control of the law enforcement agencies (LEAs).
Even though Benghazi should serve as an eye-opener to those who constantly talk about anti-American sentiment running high in streets of most muslim nations, the film is extremely inflammatory. One may well ask even then why is so much anger directed towards the US considering that this was the act of one single individual? The US had nothing to do with the project, senior US officials, including President Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, have openly condemned the film but there are more likely reasons behind the deep-rooted anger against the US. When the Danish cartoon controversy came up or when calls were given by an American pastor for burning of the Holy Koran, people in Pakistan (and elsewhere in Islamic world) reacted in similar fashion, this time the response was more violent.
Resentment and suspicion against the US can be gauged from the fact that a even though a huge majority of those protesting across Pakistan have probably not even seen the video in question, the incident inflamed the bitterness and anger because of the perception that muslims are mostly looked down upon by the US and western countries and treated unfairly. In Pakistan itself a combination of the US handling of the war in Afghanistan and the drone strikes have given rise to blatant anti-Americanism in the streets. The despite the fact that a generous US is fastest with the mostest whenever Pakistan is in dire need, eg 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods. The US pro-Israel bias in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict adds to this antipathy. The war on terror launched by the US is being perceived wrongly as a pretext for a war against Islam. In surveys conducted from 2006 to 2007 by the “Program on International Policy Attitudes” (PIPA) in a number of Islamic countries i.e. Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia and Pakistan, which of three goals was the primary objective for the US war on terror, the majority believed the goal was to weaken and divide the Islamic religion and its people and obtain political/military domination to control resources in the Middle East. Only two in ten people thought it was to protect the US from terrorist attacks.
The govt suspended cellular network in the country on Sept 21 in a crude and rather ham-handed attempt to contain the violence. In this vacuum of information, the live images of arson and rioting being beamed by television channels and frightening images of mobs attacking indiscriminate targets added to the rumours, force-multiplied by the fact that many people were cut off from family and friends. The govt attempt to bail themselves out of a difficult situation backfired, this measure of last resort has now set a dangerous precedent for the future.
The fury of the mob attacks gives rise to the probability that these did not come out of blind spots alone, they came from any and all directions, orchestrated mostly by those who stood to benefit and take advantage thereof to destabilise the political order and to bring in anarchy, etc. The protestors were further reinforced on the day by rightist and extremist elements whose sole agenda was to exploit the situation for their own selfish purposes. All calls made by political leaders, ulema and religious leaders to exercise restraint and remain peaceful fell on deaf ears. And how could they, what was the ideology of the looters who went on a rampage against banks, shops, etc? This was not the first time such an incident has happened and will probably not be the last. Though not a laughing matter by any measure, peaceful’ rallies in Pakistan have almost become a joke. Both the govt and the opposition were very much aware that violence was bound to occur and that it could spiral out of control, while the level of violence was surprising how did the LEAs allow weapons to be openly displayed, and that also by banned organizations?
The country’s leadership must rise above partisan considerations and tackle the crisis eating at our vitals. We cannot allow the anarchy let loose under what was essentially a genuine protest. Those who govern over us must take corrective and remedial steps to correct the fault lines in our national psyche before those with vested interest use what could be essentially genuine protest as a pretext to permanently scar the future of the country. For those in power at every level of governance, dereliction of that responsibility is catastrophic for the nation they have the responsibility to govern.
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