The Search For Enlightenment

So called pastor Terry Jones of the Dove Outreach Centre in Florida, better know as the fundamentalist Christian who planned to burn copies of the Quran in 2010, has been connected with an American made film aimed at insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

The violent reaction to the film has resulted in the death of U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three others in Libya after a trailer was posted in Arabic on YouTube. The film was being promoted by an extreme anti-Muslim Egyptian Christian campaigner in the United States, according to Sam Bacile, who wrote and directed it.

Bacile also claims that the film’s $5m was funded by monies given by over 100 Jewish donors. Although apologetic about the American who died as a result of the outrage, he blamed lax embassy security and the perpetrators of the violence.

So when is someone going to put a stop to these hateful people, who are inflaming already sensitive relations. Whilst I applaud the right to free speech, that freedom comes with a responsibility. If these people cannot control their religious bigotry, they should not be given the privilege to voice their views.

British, American and other nations young men and women are risking, and losing, their lives in places like Afghanistan, in the hope that they can bring a stable situation to these troubled countries. The results of their peace-keeping, policing missions will be hugely damaged by such inflammatory stunts, and the US legislature should put a stop to them.