A cheap, crude, anti-Islamic film entitled The Innocence of Muslims,
produced and promoted by reactionary Christian fundamentalists in the
United States and posted on the internet in July, has led to
demonstrations in many countries around the world, including attacks on
US embassies and in the case of Libya to the killing of four US
diplomats at the US Consulate in Benghazi. We look into why all this is
happening?
A cheap, crude, anti-Islamic film entitled The Innocence of Muslims,
produced and promoted by reactionary Christian fundamentalists in the
United States and posted on the internet in July, has led to
demonstrations in many countries around the world, including attacks on
US embassies and in the case of Libya to the killing of four US
diplomats at the US Consulate in Benghazi. We look into why all this is
happening?
Rally in Sydney. Photo: Jamie KennedyAccording to reports, the film originally had the title Desert Warriors
and was not about Muhammad at all. Actors who had taken part in the
film have claimed they were unaware of the fact that the film was about
Muhammad, and that the storyline which transformed the film into the
format in which it eventually appeared on the internet was the result of
dubbing. The scripting was deliberately designed to be insulting to
Muslims.
Initially it was not even clear who was behind the film. The story
being spread around the internet was that a certain “Sam Bacile” had
made the film with finance provided “by over 100 Jewish donors”. The
intention was clear: to give the impression that the film was an
American/Jewish production and to provoke a backlash among Muslims
around the world.
Later the truth was revealed that Sam Bacile did not exist and that
the real maker of the film was a convicted fraudster, Nakoula Bassely
Nakoula, a Coptic Egyptian who has links to extreme right-wing
evangelical associates in the USA, who also helped in the shooting of
the film. Among these there was a certain Steve Klein, an ex-Marine who
has been involved in training militiamen in California churches. Among
his activities are also protests against abortion clinics, mosques in
the United States and even against Mormon temples.
The “film” was only screened once in Los Angeles, with a very small
attendance. The notorious Florida-based “pastor” Terry Jones – who last
year hit the headlines when he publicly burnt the Koran – tried to boost
the film’s fortunes but with no success. In July the makers of the film
posted it on You Tube, but hardly anyone noticed it. At this point that
could well have been the end of the story and the film would have
joined the many others like it and been forgotten.
Clearly not happy at the lack of interest in their film, the makers
then had it dubbed into Arabic and placed this version also on YouTube.
Even then, in spite of the valiant efforts of these reactionary,
right-wing bigots, the film was failing to make any impact.
Then enters the scene a certain Sheikh Khaled Abdallah. Who is
Abdallah? He is an Egyptian TV personality who runs a programme on the
Islamist satellite-TV station al-Nas. He has been compared to America’s
Glenn Beck who has run TV and radio shows that supposedly have defended
“traditional American” and Christian fundamentalist values. Abdallah is
no friend of the “Arab Spring” and according to some reports he is
quoted as having described the courageous Egyptian youth that were the
main protagonists of the Egyptian revolution that overthrew Mubarak, as
“worthless kids”. And just like Glenn Beckin the USA, he is intent on
fomenting conflict between Christians and Muslims.
Having discovered the film, The Innocence of Muslims, on
September 8, he broadcast an offensive clip from it in which the actor
playing Muhammad calls a donkey "the first Muslim animal." It was after
this that the whole thing snowballed. Abdallah clearly understands the
old Roman method of “Divide and Rule”. He pays particular attention to
fomenting hatred for the Egyptian Coptic Christians, who make up about
ten per cent of the population.
Let us recall that during the most intense and massive mobilisations
against the Mubarak regime, ordinary working Copts and Muslims in Egypt
joined hands in a united struggle. In this we saw the potential for
working class unity, which was expressed on more than one occasion.
After Mubarak fell, the old regime in the clothes of the military
organised provocations aimed at breaking the unity that had been forged
in the revolution, by organising tit-for-tat attacks between Christians
and Muslims. Abdallah’s TV show is part of this ongoing attempt to
divide the workers and youth of Egypt along religious lines. He
concentrates much of his attention on Egypt’s Coptic Christians.
The broadcasting of the infamous clip on Abdallah’s show is what
attracted a wide viewing, especially among the Salafists, the Islamic
fundamentalist movement that is the second largest grouping in the
Egyptian parliament. Up until then small groups of organised Salafists
had been trying to build up a protest movement with regular rallies
outside the US embassy in Cairo, but with little success. Then Abdallah
came to their rescue, whipping up anti-American feelings with the aid of
the now infamous film.
The protest in Cairo was followed by the events in Benghazi where
four US diplomats were killed, and from there the protest spread to
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Morocco, Indonesia and other
countries. The media in the West then picked up on this to paint a
picture of an “Islamic world” dominated by reactionary, extremist
fundamentalists.
The truth is that the numbers actually taking part in the protests
were quite small. In Tehran for example, no more than 500 took part in
protests chanting “Death to America”; in Lebanon no more than 200 people
took to the streets; in Jerusalem around 300 protested; in Morocco the
reports indicate that “hundreds of Salafists burned US flags”. The
biggest reported demonstration was in Jordan, where it was claimed 2000
turned out. According to Al Jazeera the total number of people across
the whole of the Middle East and beyond that came out to protest last
Friday after prayers was around 5,000. This is in no way a “mass
movement” of reaction. It is in fact very small and is actually being
hyped up by the world media to look far bigger than it really is.
If we compare these numbers to those participating in what has become
known as the “Arab Spring”, i.e. the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt
and in other countries, then we get a much truer picture of the real
balance of forces on the ground. And while much media coverage is given
to the protests organised by the fundamentalists, very little is said
for example of the protests in Libya of ordinary people coming out
against the fundamentalists!
However, having said that, one also has to register the fact that
there is a genuine anti-imperialist mood among the masses in the Middle
East and beyond. Let us not forget that US imperialism for decades
backed, financially and militarily all those rotten regimes that for
years oppressed ordinary working people. To this day they are still
backing regimes such as the one in Saudi Arabia. They conveniently
turned a blind eye when Saudi military forces went into Bahrain to
suppress the revolution there. They have been manoeuvring behind the
scenes to sow confusion among the masses and to promote reactionary
forces, such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and in other countries.
The US ruling class is no friend of the working masses of the Middle
East.
All this also explains why anti-American sentiments are so easily
promoted by reactionary individuals such as Sheikh Khaled Abdallah.
Unfortunately, a healthy anti-imperialism is then diverted along
reactionary lines. This is possible because there is no mass workers’
party in Egypt that is capable of uniting the working masses on class
issues. In such a vacuum the reactionary elements find room to
manoeuvre.
Hiding behind their false anti-imperialist demagogy, the
fundamentalists promote their own reactionary agenda. Let us not forget
that Islamic fundamentalism has been promoted, financed and exploited by
US imperialism many times in the past when it suited its interests.
When the US were trying to overthrow the pro-Soviet regime in
Afghanistan – a product of the 1978 Saur Revolution – they had no qualms
about supporting some of the most reactionary, backward elements within
the country, that were to become known as the Taliban.
The fact is that the Islamic fundamentalists exploit what is a
genuine anti-imperialist feeling among the masses, but they do so to
divert it along completely reactionary lines. Long ago, Lenin could see
this danger. In the Draft Theses on National and Colonial Questions for The Second Congress of The Communist International, he wrote the following:
“With regard to the more backward states and nations, in which feudal
or patriarchal and patriarchal-peasant relations predominate, it is
particularly important to bear in mind:“first, that all Communist parties must assist the
bourgeois-democratic liberation movement in these countries, and that
the duty of rendering the most active assistance rests primarily with
the workers of the country the backward nation is colonially or
financially dependent on;“second, the need for a struggle against the clergy and other
influential reactionary and medieval elements in backward countries;“third, the need to combat Pan-Islamism and similar trends, which
strive to combine the liberation movement against European and American
imperialism with an attempt to strengthen the positions of the khans,
landowners, mullahs, etc.”
Today, unfortunately, there are people on the left who have forgotten
– or have never understood – the basic position of Marxism in relation
to the reactionary Islamic clergy. It is clear that the most reactionary
elements within the Islamic clergy have played an important role in
attempting to whip up a hysterical reaction, using this latest
provocation on the part of extreme right-wing reactionary Christian
fundamentalists in the United States. This clergy is not genuinely
anti-imperialist, but uses the real anger of the masses to push forward
its own agenda, one which is designed to undermine the revolutions that
have erupted in the Middle East and North Africa!
According to reports from Egypt, the organizers of these protests
have been mainly reactionary Salafist groups. However, the Muslim
Brotherhood, for fear of being outflanked by the Salafists, have also
called for demonstrations. Both the Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood
are working to undermine the Egyptian revolution, and what better way
to achieve that than by dividing the workers of Egypt along religious
lines. The lack of any significant change in the lives of ordinary
workers and youth in Egypt since the fall of Mubarak has also led to
some tiredness and disillusionment among the masses who took part in the
revolution. In such circumstances protests of a few hundred, or at most
a few thousand, of the kind we are witnessing in these past few days
can appear far more important than they really are. What they are trying
to do is to to cut across class struggle in the country, defeat the
workers and push the country to the right. The task of Marxists is to
expose all this and emphasise the need for workers’ unity.
What has to be highlighted is that the Christian fundamentalists, and
the reactionary right wing in general, in the United States and the
Islamic fundamentalists in those countries where Islam is the dominant
religion actually lean on each other and use each other. The
provocations, such as this recent one, organised by reactionaries in the
USA provide fundamentalists in countries like Egypt with ammunition
with which to whip up the anti-US sentiment. This reaction in turn is
used by the right-wing Christian fundamentalists in the USA to portray a
picture of an American-hating “Muslim world”. Both aim to divide
workers; both are working against the Arab revolution; both are enemies
of workers in all countries.
In moments like these it is easy to be taken in by all this media
hype. Its purpose is to distract attention from what is really going on.
The crisis of world capitalism expressed itself in the Arab world with
the Tunisian and then the Egyptian revolutions. These inspired the
workers and youth of the world. In the United States during mass
protests such as that in Wisconsin in early 2011 we saw how the American
workers identified with the mass protests of the Egyptian workers.
There was even the slogan “Fight like an Egyptian”. Later the mass
#Occupy movement in the United States inspired workers and youth around
the globe, including in the Arab world.
In spite of all their crude attempts, the reactionary right-wing in
the USA and their counterparts in the Arab world will not succeed in
their manoeuvres. The crisis of capitalism is relentless. Life for
working people in all countries is becoming ever more unbearable. And
everywhere the class struggle keeps surfacing. We saw it in Cairo, we
saw it in Wisconsin, then New York, then in Athens. At present we are
seeing it in a big way in Spain and Portugal. It is spreading
everywhere.
That is why we can expect more crude attempts to whip up national
chauvinist and religious sentiments. But whatever they come up with,
they cannot hide the fact that the capitalist system globally has
failed. Because it is taking away from workers everywhere all the hard
fought for gains of the past, this system is doomed. Class struggle on a
global scale is what is being prepared, and that is what terrifies the
ruling classes of all countries. The final words of the Communist
Manifesto, “The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They
have a world to win. Working Men of All Countries, Unite!” have never
rung truer.
