The Innocence of Muslims

  Ok, so it looks like many parts of the Islamic world are angry over the Innocence of Muslims movie.  Here are a few initial points.

  First, I haven't seen the movie.  Nor probably will I see the movie. On social media I'm pretty hard on Islamic fascist.  But I'm also pretty hard on American and other fascist.  I try to call things like I see them.  I think Islam is a false hope that cannot save. But I also believe this about most religions or any ideology that denies Romans chapter 3, Acts 4:12, Matthew 14:6, Romans 10:9, Ephesians 2:8-11, whatever guise is disguises itself as.  So I'm anti-Islam as a false religion, but I am not anti-Muslim as I am not anti-emergent "christian", Mormon, Buddhist, esoteric cultist, whatever. Regardless of what a person puts their faith in, that person is still made in the image of God and on a base level indicates that person deserves my love and respect, even if I believe that person has put their faith in a false hope.

   Second, there are claims that this movie is a "cultural Molotov cocktail" deliberately created to stir up the Islamic world.  It might be, it might not be.  For me a larger issue is at stake here.  Why is the Muslim world given a pass on free speech and tolerance towards others of a differing religion?  I observe today that many progressives and liberals are infuriated at the movie, with some even going out and posting the possible addresses and semi-private contact info of those behind the movie. I hope they get it right because I'd hate to be someone who had nothing to do with the film and get blamed for it, and have my family put in danger by Islamic militants because someone screwed up a social engineering op and got the wrong info.
   Regardless, when is the Islamic world, and the world in general, going to grow up?  I see stuff I HATE posted online every day, yet I never seem to think that this somehow gives me the authority to go out and kill, loot, and burn...why should anyone else think differently?  Because they are "lesser" people and can't reason like us "high" folks in the West?  They are too "barbaric" and follow their instincts, so we have to make sure that we don't provoke them?  I don't think so. I'd hate to see the same logic applied to parenting.  "Don't tell little Johny something he doesn't want to hear or he might kill Mom and burn down his crib".  Are you following me here?
   An enlightened world tolerates dissent and free speech.  It tolerates things it doesn't want to hear for the greater good of allowing people the freedom to say anything.  Freedom is innovation.  If you loose some of it, you loose innovation, as the limits that are put in place to limit "the bad" know no morality, they are just limits, and they often limit "the good" as well.  How long will whole sections of the world remain in darkness because they are not free?  This movie is a direct indicator of how free and tolerant many Muslim regions of the world are, and how coddling our elites are to their imperfections.  Rather than push for higher standards, they coddle Muslim Johny.  In the long term this represents missed opportunities for civilizational growth in these regions. Even worse they coddle Muslim Johny by trying to stamp out free speech in the West so Islamic Johny won't cry/burn/loot/steal/throw a fit.
 
   Third, there are numerous bad things about the history of Islam, including it's founder, that should not just be swept under the rug for the sake of a false temporal peace.
 
  Forth this movie allegedly deals with Coptic Christians some how.  The Coptic Christians in Egypt do suffer.  Does that matter to anyone anymore? I know many Muslims also suffer, some at the hands of the West.  This matters too.  Both sufferings should be talked about, debated, pondered, redressed in a fair means, neither should be swept under the rug.

  Fifth, this movie very well might be some sort of false flag / cultural Molotov.  Even if it isn't, there are forces in the world who can/have/do the same types of things.  The solution is to go after those cynical forces that play off cultural weaknesses in order to play one group off on another.  This involves recognizing and going after these forces, not to stifle or discourage free speech.  Maybe that is what was at the heart of the progressive rage against the film that I saw today on social media, a detection on some level that these forces might be at work to start another conflict in the region.  If that is so, then rock on and by all means continue to investigate, but leave my speech and freedom, and that of the world's, alone.