Film protests reflect corrosive anger at US

By Li Weijian Source:Global Times Published: 2012-9-24 20:55:05

A film trailer for the anti-Islamic movie The Innocence of Muslims has ignited the Islamic world. Protests over this film have lasted for over 10 days and expanded to more than 30 countries, including parts of Europe. This situation is still worsening.

At first, US government wanted to blame this accident on the film itself. After the killing of the US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stephens, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the film was "disgusting and reprehensible" but stressed that the US government had nothing to do with this film.

The producer of this film has also been questioned by US police for violations of his parole. However, with the increasing of anti-American protests, the US begins to understand that it cannot simply attribute the protests to The Innocence of Muslims or the guilt of the rioters. This film only lit the fuse of anti-American fury.

Many Americans may wonder, as Clinton said, "How could this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we helped save from destruction?" The US has helped some countries to overthrow old rulers and establish new regimes in the Arab Spring. However, why are these countries the ones that are reacting the most violently?

In fact, after the September 11 attack, the question "Why do they hate us?" was often raised in the US. However, there were not many people thinking about it seriously.

In June 2009, US President Barack Obama delivered a speech in Cairo University. He said that he wanted to seek "a new beginning" between the US and Muslims around the world based on mutual interest and respect. However, in the past three years, there have still been incidents such as US soldiers humiliating Muslims or desecrating the Koran. 

Historical grievances and Washington's Middle East policy are to blame for the contradictions between the US and Islamic world. Former US president George W. Bush once inadvertently used the term "crusade" to describe the war on terror in Middle East. This sparked painful local memories of religious war and reignited their hatred for the West.

Mistaken US policies in the Middle East have intensified the contradictions. The US has adopted double standards in the Middle East. It has sided with Israel and disregarded the interests of the Palestinian people. In the Middle East turmoil started last year, the US has treated Middle Eastern countries differently according to its own interests. These double standards have created dissent in the Arab world.

Also in the Syrian and Libyan crises, the US has supported the seizure of power by the opposition through violent means and disregarded these countries' social realities and people's lives and property.

US actions are rooted in the Western sense of superiority.  From their perspective, Western politics are absolutely right. Therefore, they are prejudiced against other value systems, especially Islam.

After the September 11 attack, the relationship between the US and Islamic world has deteriorated. The anti-American protests have once again demonstrated that deep-seated problems between the US and Islamic world have not eased, but got worse.

Recently, there are voices in the US discussing the real reasons for the protests. There are also many people reflecting on US present policies. In my view, as a representative of Western civilization, which is in a dominant position in the modern world, the US should initiate sincere dialogue with non-Western civilizations.

Equal and rational communication with non-Western civilizations is a good way to enhance understanding. This is the top priority for the US to ease its contradictions with the Islamic world and other non-Western civilizations.

The author is director of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn



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