First of all, the Islamic world must realize the fact that there are enemies of Islam and its Prophet (peace be upon him). They include extremely intolerant racists who are Christians and Jews, in addition to infidels and followers of polytheistic religions. Hence, these aggressive attacks on Islam are not going to stop. The only difference is that they may take different forms and utilize different methods. In the recent past, we had to deal with Salman Rushdie's book “The Satanic Verses”, and then the Danish cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) appeared. They rejected Islam's position as the heavenly religion and the last religion revealed by God. Now, there is an anti-Islam video clip, directed by a Jew, and produced and financed by an Egyptian Coptic Christian based in the US together with a racist gang. The film has sparked furious protests by Muslims worldwide. The Muslim outrage has mainly been concentrated in front of US embassies, and there have been incidents of the burning of US flags reported in more than 30 countries. This gives a clear and explicit message, demonstrating the intense hatred of US foreign policy. This hastened German Chancellor Angela Merkel to announce that her country will not issue an entry visa to the anti-Muslim American Christian pastor Terry Jones. Britain has also denied him an entry visa. The releasing of a new edition of “The Satanic Verses” has also been stopped in the UK after preparations had been made for printing the book. The US administration prevented Jones from demonstrating in front of a mosque. However, in the face of this deluge of anger over the film, most satellite channels have taken a position in favor of the United States and have accordingly started to try to absolve the US from responsibility on the grounds that the White House has condemned the film offending Islam and its Prophet (pbuh). I, however, totally disagree with all such opinions that try to exonerate the US administration because the film's producer is an American national of Coptic Christian origin and its director is an American Jewish citizen. The US administration is fully responsible for the acts of its citizens. When a man commits a grave error, his country is fully responsible for the act, especially when taking into account its consequences. Egypt, which US President Obama recently said the US does not consider either an ally or an enemy, has been more cautious and tolerant with Christians. When the movie “The Da Vinci Code” was released, the Egyptian government banned its screening in the country. The government sent a print of the film to the Coptic pope asking his permission either to screen it partially or impose a total ban on it as the film is purportedly offensive to Christianity in general. Islam forbids Muslims from doing anything offensive to Christians and Jews. In Egypt blasphemy is a punishable offense, unlike countries that permit or condone committing sin under the cloak of freedom of expression and artistic creativity. There is no doubt that there is a reason why this racist Egyptian Copt committed his hostile act of producing such an offensive film. The error originated several years ago during the time of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. During those days, Egyptian Copts organized religious gatherings, and some of them were characterized by severe intolerance. Unfortunately, these gatherings were held with the material support and blessings of the Egyptian Coptic Papal Church. This helped to renew the idea of establishing a Coptic state in Upper Egypt which is an idea that is a remnant of the British occupation of Egypt. In order to achieve this objectionable goal, which was rejected totally by Egyptian Copts at home, it was essential for them to create momentum for reactivating this dream. Therefore, the wrong impression that Egyptian Copts are subjected to persecution was created and several false stories and fabricated events and propaganda were put into circulation. Nobody thought it worth mentioning that nearly half of the wealthy people in Egypt are Copts while their number does not exceed 5.5 million in a total population of 90 million! Former president Mubarak committed a mistake when he was faced with hostile demonstrations by Copts. Yielding to pressure from the Americans, he allowed such demonstrations under the mantle of freedom of expression. The US administration did not prevent demonstrations being held against the former president. At the same time, the former Coptic pope wandered across the United States supporting immigrant Copts before he became sick. All this led to the fomenting of sectarian strife in Egypt. Perhaps the constant repetition of a falsehood can turn it into a fact which is believed by at least some people. However, the error was compounded by the negative US position with the former Egyptian regime, the negative attitude of the Coptic Church and its instigation of elements in the Coptic diaspora, and the weakness of the former Egyptian government. In any case, this absurd film has neither value nor influence, and soon the film and those responsible for it will sink into oblivion. Domestically, Egypt is stronger and greater than ever as far as these trivialities are concerned. There is a right to express anger over the offensive film without the destruction of public and private property as well as of diplomatic missions.
