Thankful Again

* From September 15th *           

           As protests erupt all across the Middle East over a low-budget film insulting Mohammed, I find myself again thankful that I am in the Kurdish enclave of the north.  The amount of craziness permeating the region over a stupid video is actually quite mind-boggling.  It seems that the video is being jumped on by every sheikh and mullah with a radical agenda as a reason to incite the masses.  Most people probably wouldn’t even hear about it as the film is really quite insignificant.  However, anti-Western hardliners will find every reason to lash out and the video was just the next likely excuse to do it. 

            It is quite shameful actually because Islam, in daily life, is nothing like this.  Car-bombs, pelting women with stones, storming embassies, etc. represent the views of a conservative minority. Your average citizens, even here in Kurdistan, are just victims of an inability to critically think for themselves.  This is due to an education system based on pure authority, rigid social structures they must follow, a lack of free media, and religious beliefs that don’t permit you to question anything.  Combined with a dearth of opportunities, they are ripe for misunderstanding and misplaced anger.  This video is a prime example. 

Most Muslims do not hate the West.  They hate our foreign policy adventurism and fawning over Israel, but so do I.  People back home misunderstand this to be a blanket degradation of everything we stand for.  This is partially the medias fault as the only time you see a Muslim on TV they are burning a flag and yelling, “Allah Akbar!” Although the Middle East is behind the West in probably every standard of living, they are finally “waking up.”  The Arab Spring will prove to be a momentous occasion in world history.  I hope that Islam doesn’t creep too much into the newly established democratically elected governments of the region.  I am a fervent believer in the separation of church and state.  However, if that is what the people want in those countries, then so be it.  We might not always like what the people vote for in a democracy, but we must respect it regardless. 

The problem lies, again, in a well-organized and vocal minority.  Governments are condemning the recent attacks, as are many citizens, but I hope that these incidents don’t further inculcate fear over Islam.  The Arab Spring was a great opportunity for the people of the Middle East to finally have their voices heard after years of oppression.  I hope that they don’t let their popular movements become hijacked by the ultraconservative.  The videographer was wrong to make the video but completely within his free speech to do so.  It is natural for a Muslim to get upset about it, but the extent of this backlash is uncalled for…especially since it was a random person, an Egyptian no less, who created it, not any government.  Large and complex topic, but I felt it necessary to muse about it for at least a little bit.  Although I feel safe here in Kurdistan, it is still unsettling to see hordes of angry and violent protestors storming embassies in countries all around you.