Friday, Sep 21, 2012
Abu Dhabi: Social media has been flooded with articles, pages, tweets and pictures that range from mild to violent ones in response to the film mocking the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
‘Innocence of Muslims’, a film produced in the United States and available in both English and Arabic language versions, has been viewed by more than 10 million people around the world, according to Visible Measures, the video analytics company.
The company says there are nearly 230 different clips of the film on the Internet, with most of them on YouTube. Around 4 million viewers have watched one of the film clips, which lasts one minute and 30 seconds.
Several Muslims using Twitter have discussed the online video under the hashtag #MuslimRage.
Comments and feedback have varied between being violent and sarcastic about the new anti-Islam movie.
Additionally, a wide array of Facebook pages have been formed and are calling for the banning of all sarcastic trailers, clips and pictures about the Prophet and for them to be removed from the internet.
“Just like the cartoons a few years ago, Muslims’ response to the recent film has been very diverse,” said Anas Hlayhel, an electrical engineer. “However, the most noteworthy is the enormity of the responses. Despite the consensus that the film did not deserve the attention it was getting, social media kept conducting pages and sending messages condemning the online video mocking the Prophet Mohammad.”
Similarly, Mohamed Farid, a 22-year-old university student who watched the movie, said that “even though social media promotes freedom of expression and speech, it should have limits if it insults another group of people and especially if it insults something as sacred as religion and prophets.”
He did add, however, that any protests should not include violence, referring to the death of four American diplomatic staff in Libya.
“I am completely against it, I believe violent protests are the wrong way to go,” he said. “Legal action would be possibly safer, more effective and more peaceful. More important, Muslims can make an even better movie in reply to show the greatness of the Prophet.”
In contrast, Fatima Al Demas, a 22-year-old university graduate, told Gulf News that she didn’t watch the movie, not even the trailer.
“I only read a few lines about the synopsis,” she said. “I honestly did not give it much attention. I am really disappointed in some of very violent and pointless reactions. I know that my knowledge of the Prophet is above and beyond any of that. Therefore, I didn’t even discuss it.”
Meanwhile, several pointed out that not all online media is attacking religious views. Several Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs have produced quality movies and animated films and numerous clips telling the story of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and enhancing understanding of the Islam.
“We live in an interconnected and diverse world,” Samih Ali, a governmental employee, told Gulf News. “If people will continue passing judgments on other religions and cultures we will end up with severe conflicts and disputes. All TV stations and channels should stop throwing further fuel on fire by giving subjective coverage to the provocative and hateful movie. Simply ignore it, take legal action and make good clips of the Prophet are few suggestions for those who want to react to the anti-Islam film.”
By Sara Sabry Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
