The reason I’m  speaking about Muslims and “Muslims” (between quotation marks) is because the only thing Muslim about the latter (i.e. “Muslims”) is the religion they think they’re following but are really not. They are a disgrace.

An anti-Islam movie, The Innocence of Muslims, which has been available online for the past year recently started to make the rounds after being dubbed in Egyptian Arabic.

As a result, a wave of violence has spread across countries with substantial Muslim populations to protest the movie. The American embassy in Libya was stormed and the ambassador was killed. The embassy in Yemen has been stormed as well. And the violence doesn’t seem to let down.

The Egyptian “Muslims” are in an upheaval against the Copts, accusing them of staging the entire thing because the movie was promoted by a Copt expat. As a result, 9 Copt expats were barred from entry to their country. As if their struggles in Egypt were not enough (click here).

And in the midst of it all, as some “Muslims” sparked in outrage in typical “Ella Mohammad” chants and killed because of a silly movie, I couldn’t help but ask myself this simple question: Why can’t they take it?

Why is it that every single time some ignorant trouble-seeking person makes a movie, a cartoon or something even sillier, to demean their prophet, some “Muslims” have to go all out on anything that reminds them of Western civilization?

Hezbollah has issued a statement in which the entire thing is a US-zionist fabrication. But they can’t do anything because the Pope is visiting tomorrow and that wouldn’t look too good come elections next year.

The Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) have issued a statement where they believe “Muslims [have been] subjected to humiliation and abuse” because of the video and as such they don’t even condemn the barbaric acts taking place. It’s ironic how they have people in their own backyard that face such humiliation and abuse every single day: the Copts of Egypt, the Christians of Iraq and yet somehow fighting for them doesn’t feel meaningful. One can also argue that what’s happening to the Palestinians in their home is also an offense to the Prophet. But that’s besides the point.

I have watched the movie. I think it’s disgusting. I think it’s a disgrace. I, a non-Muslim, found it nauseating and so absurd that I wouldn’t want to waste another second of my life trying to watch any part of it again. I think it’s a movie that gets anyone with a brain angry – but not angry enough to go around terrorizing innocent people who have nothing to do with it.

What is the fault of an American if an American decided to do this movie? What is the fault of a Danish person that some Danish cartoon artist decided to draw a useless caricature of Mohammad? Unlike our countries over here, their states do not ban things just because they are offensive to a category of people. Just as many Muslims want those same people to stop putting them all in one bag whenever some terrorist religion-less islam-proclaiming group goes on a killing spree, they might as well extend this courtesy to others too.

This brings me to my next point. When some “Muslims” attack embassies in anger over their religion being offended, they are only getting more chaos-loving individuals to come up with more demeaning cartoons and movies of their religion. And the cycle repeats itself again. The moment these “Muslims” stop acting out their anger on the streets is the moment those who like to poke around stop loving doing what they’re doing and maybe even lessening it.

Besides, can’t those very angry “Muslims” stop for a moment and think that this is the exact reaction those who did that movie want of them to have? The movie is not an expression of freedom. It is an insult. The filmmaker knows that. And he has done it on purpose. And you have these people eating it up like candy. There’s no point in making the movie except to get some hot-blooded people on the streets and to cause mayhem. And it’s been a resounding success.

Do those “Muslims” supposedly defending their religion know how many people around the world are looking at them and thinking: what kind of religion is this? I have to ask: what’s worse: thinking that you’re defending your beliefs by making everyone mock them or truly defending your beliefs by being exemplary in showing them to everyone just as they truly are?

Do they think they’re restoring the pride of the Prophet with this? Would their Prophet be proud of what they’re doing? Or is he prouder of those who simply prayed on it and asked for forgiveness for those who did the movie? Do they think the image they’re portraying is one that befits the Muslims who know that such barbaric acts are unacceptable?

If those “Muslims” read the teachings of the Prophet they’d know how wrong their actions are. There’s a “Hadith” for the Prophet which says – and I paraphrase – “a strong person isn’t that who acts violently when he’s mad. It is the one who controls his anger and doesn’t act violently.”

The Prophet also said – and I loosely translate – “The Prophet honored those who get past blind wild anger and said “the toughest of you is that who holds himself when angry and the best of you is that who forgives when he can” and he said “who holds in his anger has his weakness covered” and he said “who holds in his anger has God rewarding his pain.”

كرم الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم اولئك الذين ينأون بأنفسهم عن الاستجابة للغضب الطائش الجامح، فقال (أشدكم من ملك نفسه عند الغضب وأحلمكم من عفا عند المقدرة وقال: من كف غضبه ستر الله عورته) وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم (من ملك غضبه وقاه الله عذابه)

Soon enough the people protesting will get over it and they will be preoccupied by the next religious toy for them to chew on. But the effect of this movie will be ever lasting. In an age where American policies have “theoretically” been geared towards helping these Arabs in their struggle for freedom, a pro-America feeling is far from being instilled in their minds. What will remain in people’s mind though is that there was a movie condemning the Prophet and it was American. On the other hand, the Americans will look at these “terrorists” and further deepen their false convictions about the entire region.

The only person smiling out of all of this is the filmmaker. He got what he wanted.

The age of Muslim cold-bloodedness needs to start now because there’s a lot more from where that movie came from.

“It is in times like these that I’m thankful I’m Christian.” I read this sentence many times recently and wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. Why? Because even though to many I’m a struggling minority who shouldn’t feel comfortable in this region, I knew deep down that there was a part of me – and I’m sort of ashamed to say this – that agreed with it. And I think feeling thankful that you were born into a religion only because of the actions of some individuals in another one isn’t acceptable. Not one bit.

But the thing about Christians of the Middle East is that they can take it, despite them being a minority and in spite of many finding them an irrelevant burden – the Copts of Egypt might even have to take in a few things now with some of them being involved in this. Middle Eastern Christians always take it and hope that one day things will change and there wouldn’t be things left for them to swallow.

But until that day comes…