Content and commentary
Sky News said the trailer was "anti-Muslim" and "designed to enrage".[15] According to Reuters news service the trailer portrays Muhammad as a "fool, a philanderer and a religious fake";[16] NBC News said the trailer depicted Muhammad "as a womanizer, ahomosexual and a child abuser."[17] Muhammad's followers are portrayed as "savage killers hungry for wealth and bent on killing women and children" according to the BBC.[18]
The first scenes of the video purport to show present-day Egyptian Muslims burning the homes of Egyptian Christians while Egyptian Muslim security forces stand idle.[19] The rest of the trailer purports to portray scenes from the prophet Muhammad's life. One scene implies his wife Khadija ordered that the Quran be written by mixing parts of the Torah and the New Testament into false verses.[20] In another scene, the character Muhammad calls a donkey "the first Muslim animal",[21] with Time magazine describing the dialogue as "homoerotic".[22]
The New Republic said that the film "includes not a single artistically redeemable aspect at all." The reviewer described the directing as "atrocious"; the sets "terrible"; the acting as consisting of "blank eyes and strained line readings".[23] The New York Daily News called it "obscenely inept vanity project" that is "far beneath any reasonable standard of movie-making."[24] Muslim filmmaker Kamran Pasha stated, "I am of the opinion that it is a film of questionable artistic merit, backed by a group of bitter bigots whose only agenda was to incite hatred and violence by smearing the character of Prophet Muhammad."[25] Salman Rushdie, who was in hiding until 2002 due to death threats and an assassination order fatwa from Ayatollah Khomeini for his novel The Satanic Verses, called the film "outrageous and unpleasant and disgusting."[26][27]
Production
The cast and crew have publicly stated that they were deceived about the purpose and content of the film. In a statement obtained byCNN, the film's 80 cast and crew members disavowed the film, saying: "The entire cast and crew are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer. We are 100% not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose." It further explained, "We are shocked by the drastic re-writes of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred."[28] Cindy Lee Garcia, who played the mother of Muhammad's bride-to-be, said the script was for a movie about life in Egypt 2,000 years ago, called Desert Warrior (and possibly also Desert Storm[29]), and that the character "Muhammad" was referred to as "Master George" on set. According to Garcia, "Bacile" claimed to be an Israeli real estate mogul. Later, however, he told her he was Egyptian and she heard him speaking in Arabic with other men on set. Garcia stated it makes her "sick" that she was involved in the film and that she is considering legal action against "Bacile."[30] Sarah Abdurrahman, a producer for WNYC's On the Media program, watched the trailer and concluded that all of the religious references were overdubbed after filming.[31] The independent film was directed by a person first identified in casting calls as Alan Roberts, whose original cut did not include references to Muhammad or Islam.[4][32][30]
In September 2012, "Sam Bacile" was initially described as a 56-year-old (52-year-old according to the Wall Street Journal[33]) real estate developer from Israel who spoke by phone with the Associated Press.[34][35] Israeli authorities found no sign of him being an Israeli citizen,[36] and there was no indication of a 'Sam Bacile' around 50 years old living in California, having a real estate license[37] or participating in Hollywood filmmaking.[38] Though "Bacile" claimed the film had been made for $5 million from more than 100 Jewish donors,[39] Hollywood Reporter described the film's appearance as unprofessional, bringing this claim into doubt.[40] According to a man who identified himself to the Wall Street Journal as Bacile, the film was produced to call attention to what he called the "hypocrisies" ofIslam.[41] After further reports suggested that Bacile was neither Israeli nor Jewish, Rabbi Abraham Cooper condemned initial reports that Bacile was Jewish and the movie was financed by "100 Jewish donors," saying that whoever told this to the Associated Press committed ablood libel and said that the media did not thoroughly research this claim. Cooper said that to "catapult what might be a nonexistent Jewish element could lead to violence against Jews," and called on the media to learn from this incident, while investigating who exactly created the film.[42]
Later, "Sam Bacile" was identified as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a Coptic Christian immigrant from Egypt living in Cerritos, California, near Los Angeles. In 2010, Nakoula, who had served prison time on a 1990s conviction for manufacturing methamphetamine, pleaded no contest to bank fraud and was sentenced to 21 months in prison;[43][5] he was released on probation from prison in June 2011.[44]Authorities said Nakoula told the police that he had written the movie's script while in prison and, together with his son, Abanob Basseley, raised between $50,000 and $60,000 from his wife's family in Egypt to finance the film.[45][5] According to CNN, the FBI contacted him because of the potential for threats, but he is not under investigation by the FBI.[46] However, federal officials are investigating whether Nakoula violated the terms of his probation, which barred him from using the Internet for five years.[47] According to The Smoking Gun, Nakoula had planned to produce the film as early as May 2009, when he first took out ads for crew members. However, he was arrested on the bank fraud charges a month later;[48] after his arrest, Nakoula cooperated with prosecution to obtain a reduced sentence.[49][50]
American non-profit Media for Christ obtained film permits to shoot the movie in August 2011, and Nakoula provided his home as a set and paid the actors, according to government officials and those involved in the production.[51] Media for Christ president Joseph Nassralla Abdelmasih reportedly went into hiding after the violent response to the film.[51]
Steve Klein, a Vietnam veteran who has been active in opposing Islam and has been associated with paramilitary style "hate groups" at his church according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, was asked by Nakoula to be the spokesman for the film.[52] The movie's self-identified consultant, Klein reportedly told Nakoula: "You're going to be the next Theo van Gogh."[53] Klein later told journalist Jeffrey Goldberg that "Bacile" is not a real person and is neither Israeli nor Jewish, as has been reported, and that the name is a pseudonym for about 15 Copts and Evangelical Christians from Syria, Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt; Goldberg questioned the reliability of Klein.[54] Klein rejected any blame for the violent reaction to the movie, saying, "Do I feel guilty that these people were incited? Guess what? I didn't incite them. They're pre-incited, they're pre-programmed to do this."[52]
Release
Movie poster for Innocence of Bn Ladenon display at the Vine Theatre in June 2012. The poster reads in Arabic: "For the first time, my Muslim brother, you are about to witness the true terrorist. The terrorist who killed our children in Palestine, and our brethren in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Vine Theater, Hollywood CA. where the single screening took place
The film's screening as "Innocence of Bn Laden" was advertised in the "Arab World newspaper" during the months of both May and June. The ad cost $300 to run three times in the paper and was paid by an individual identified only as "Joseph". The ads were noted by the Anti-Defamation League. The Islamic affairs director stated: "When we saw the advertisement in the paper, we were interested in knowing if it was some kind of pro-jihadist movie." Brian Donnelly, a guide for a Los Angeles based tour of famous crime scenes, noticed the poster advertising at the Vine Theatre. "I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. We didn't know what it was about because we can't read Arabic.[55] The earlier version of the film was screened once at the Vine Theatre in Hollywood California of June 23, 2012 to an audience of only ten people. The film had no subtitles and was presented in English. An employee of the theatre stated: “The film we screened was titled ‘The Innocence of Bin Laden’,” and added that it was a “small viewing.”[56]
A second screening was planned for June 30, 2012. A local Hollywood blogger, John Walsh attended a June 29 Los Angeles City Council meeting where he raised his concerns about the film's screening. “There is an alarming event occurring in Hollywood on Saturday,” he stated. “A group has rented the Vine Street theater to show a video entitled ‘Innocence of Bin Laden.’ We have no idea what this group is.” The blog site reported that the June 30 screening had been canceled.[57][58] A Current TV producer photographed the poster while it was being displayed at the theatre as advertising to later discuss on the program "The Young Turks."[59] According to one attendee, "the acting was of the worst caliber," and he "had no inkling that that movie was anti-Islamic and did not recall the movie referencing the prophet Mohammad," but he did not see the whole film.[2]
It was reported on September 14, 2012, that a planned screening by a Hindu organization in Toronto will be coupled with "snippets from other movies that are offensive to Christians and Hindus." Because of security concerns no public venue has been willing to show the film; it will be shown in private for a small audience of 200 people.[60][61] Siobhán Dowling of the The Guardian reported that "a far-right Islamophobic group in Germany", The Pro Deutschland Citizens' Movement, has uploaded the trailer on their own website and wants to show the entire film but authorities are attempting to prevent it.[62]
Two clips were posted on YouTube on July 1 (13'02", title "The Real Life of Muhammad", comment "Part of the movie, "Life of Muhammad"..... اجزاء من فيلم حياة محمد") and 2nd (13'50", title "Muhammad Movie Trailer", comment "فضيحة الاسلام الكبري") by user "sam bacile".[63]By September, the film had been dubbed into Arabic and was brought to the attention of the Arabic-speaking world by Coptic bloggerMorris Sadek, whose Egyptian citizenship had been revoked for promoting calls for an attack on Egypt.[64][65] A two-minute excerpt dubbed in Arabic was broadcast on September 8 by Sheikh Khalad Abdalla[66] on Al-Nas, an Egyptian television station,[10][67] On September 11, "Sam Bacile" YouTube account commented in Egyptian Arabic on a video from Al-Nahar TV uploaded 2 days earlier "يابهايم دة فيلم امريكي 100%" which means: "Idiots, this is an American film 100%".[68]
The film was supported by pastor Terry Jones, whose burning of copies of the Quran previously led to deadly riots around the world. On September 11, 2012, Jones said that he planned to show a 13-minute trailer that night at his church the Dove World Outreach Center inGainesville, Florida.[34] Jones said in a statement that "it is an American production, not designed to attack Muslims but to show the destructive ideology of Islam. The movie further reveals in a satirical fashion the life of Muhammad."[34]
Reactions
Protesters in
Bahrain denouncing the film
Sheikh Khaled Abdullah, in his broadcast of September 8 on Al-Nas television, criticized the film's depiction of Muhammad.[12] The Times reported that the same day the film was denounced by the leader[who?] of an Egyptian political party[which?] in a Cairo newspaper[which?].[69] Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi urged the United States government to prosecute the film producers whom he referred to as "madmen".[70] The U.S. Embassy in Cairo issued a statement condemning what it called "continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims," an apparent reference to the video.[71]
On September 12, YouTube announced that it had "temporarily restricted access" to the video in Egypt and Libya.[72] Several news services have reported that "Bacile" has gone into hiding fearing that current actions could be used as an excuse to harm him,[34] and that he continued to defend the film.[53] Saying he was sorry for the death of Stevens, "Bacile" blamed the consulate's security system.[36] Afghanistan decided to censor YouTube and President Hamid Karzai said the makers of the film committed a "devilish act".[73]
The showings of the film's trailer resulted in protests and deaths and hundreds of injuries in several cities in the world.[74] Some U.S. officials, speaking under anonymity, said that they believed the Benghazi attack was coordinated and planned in advance, and not prompted by the film.[75] Al-Qaeda has indicated responsibility and said it was in revenge for a U.S. drone strike which killed Libyan Abu Yahya al-Libi, an al-Qaeda leader.[76]
The film has been condemned by the Coptic Orthodox Christian Church as "an inflammatory movie about the prophet of Islam."[77] Bishop Serapion of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles said in a statement that it "rejects dragging the respectable Copts of the Diaspora in the latest production of an inflammatory movie about the prophet of Islam ... The name of our blessed parishioners should not be associated with the efforts of individuals who have ulterior motives."[78] In addition, the World Council of Churches stated that the film was “an insult to the heart of the Muslim faith” and “to all peoples of faith.”[79][80]
Anti-Defamation League director Abraham Foxman said, "We are greatly concerned that this false notion that an Israeli Jew and 100 Jewish backers were behind the film now has legs and is gathering speed around the world. [...] In an age where conspiracy theories, especially ones of an anti-Semitic nature, explode on the Internet in a matter of minutes, it is crucial for those news organizations who initially reported on his identity to correct the record." Foxman specifically criticized "news organizations across the Arab world and anti-Semites and anti-Israel activists" for continuing to describe the filmmaker and backers as Jewish despite the fact that no Jews were involved in the making of the film.[81]
Africa
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