A Confederacy of Lunatics

The attacks on the embassies in Cairo and Benghazi not only bear witness to how fragile the security situation is in the wake of recent revolutionary changes in both countries, they also show how radical Islamist forces are trying to exploit conditions to benefit their own agendas.

In Libya, where a de facto power vacuum has existed since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, the Islamists need not fear much opposition. Anyone who thought that a tolerant spirit would follow the dictator’s downfall out of gratitude to the United States has been sorely disappointed.

But the agitation is taking place not only in North Africa; it’s also happening in the United States, where the fuse for this explosion was actually lit. Of course, no poorly made film can excuse violence much less murder, and it’s always shocking to see how radical Islamists instinctively display a Pavlovian reaction to such provocations. But one must assume that the producers of this anti-Islamic film expected such a reaction in advance and chose to ignore the possible ramifications.

Government leaders and the media have a responsibility to hold such people accountable. Freedom of expression must also be considered, but in this case, the 14-minute film is as blatantly racist and anti-Muslim as the fictitious “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” is anti-Semitic. The originators of both should be equally condemned.

Regardless of whether Western governments and media distance themselves from this film or not, they cannot prevent further global dissemination of it via the Internet. Radical Islamists, especially, will do it themselves, because they feel it justifies their opinion that “the West” is waging war against Muslims.

The fuel is already there, and lunatics in both the Middle East and in the United States have provided them with a match.