The hatred and vitriol of, the deceptively titled film, Innocence of Muslims was the origin of a subsequent wave of hatred and vitriol. People were angered and people died because of the outraged filliped by the film. When further information came to light about the film and how it was produced, immediately the motto of the Mossad came to mind: “By way of deception …”
I have not seen the film, and I have no intention of seeing it. According to news accounts, Innocence of Muslims mocks Muslims and the prophet Mohammed. Western governments, academia, and state/corporate media bear much responsibility for this further example of the increasingly prevalent scourge of Islamophobia. This is antithetical to progressivism and its principles.
The identity of the man behind the film, and its deception, is clouded. There are conflicting claims made. At first the man was identified as Sam Bacile, an Israeli-born Jew living in California. AP identified the man as an Egyptian Christian, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. The JTA states unequivocally, “He was not a Jew.” Whatever his background, he was driven by hatred, and hatred can be found within all groups.
Whoever Sam Bacile really is, he appears to be a thoroughly disreputable character. The film was made by deceiving the cast and crew of the film. The actors and crew behind the making of Innocence of Muslims claim they were “grossly misled” about the film, which mentioned neither Islam nor Mohammed in the script.
There is a tendency to be unguarded or loose in criticizing groups that critics need to be wary of: the error of appearing to paint all members of a group with one brush. Are there groups that are 100 percent homogeneous? It is possible that on certain key concepts there may be a unity of belief. Usually there reside countervailing views with most groups; consequently, whenever one group is singled out for blanket criticism and condemnation, it seems prudent to confine criticism to the negative beliefs and actions of the group rather than direct criticism at all the members of the group. Nonetheless, there are certain loathsome groups that believe they have the right to discriminate against non-group members. By virtue of voluntary membership in such groups an entirety of the membership may open itself to blanket condemnation. Examples are the KKK, Nazis, and Zionists.
By way of deception …
Espionage and intelligence gathering is a practice born of, and wed to, deception; it is not peculiar to Mossad. “Bacile” merely practiced what so many governments practice the world over, often with the same fatal results. People need to challenge what their national intelligence agencies are really up to, challenge the raison d’être of the intelligence agencies?
If people desire to live in peace and equality, then it is important to ground oneself in knowledge, principles by which to lead one’s life, and actions that abide by those principles based in epistemology and, its important concomitant, verisimilitude.
Whistleblowing is a sine qua non for a progressivist world — a world of peace enjoyed by all peoples. Wikileaks has been prominent in forging the way for the people’s right to know. Wikileaks (and Julian Assange and Bradley Manning) deserve and need the support of people who cherish open and peaceful societies. If “our” governments clandestinely, through deception, through disinformation and propaganda engage in skullduggery and evil against other groups – it is crucial that the citizenry be informed so that they at least have a chance to formulate opinions and actions based on knowledge of what is happening in their names.