Featuring Photos of the Australian Riots and the video itself.
There’s a reason that I’m going to cover a story that was news a few days ago and that’s because when it comes to freedom of speech and a religion that strays from everyday standards of the country it has been brought to; you need to meditate and reflect on the facts and mixed emotions before you conclude with your opinion.
So what happened during this protest? (Demonstratively #SydneyRiots on Twitter)
The Australian public was confounded by unpardonably vicious action, with police even having to resort to pointing capsicum spray at the approaching onslaught of anti-Americans within the city’s business district.
With all of this starting by a YouTube video that mocked Islam and the prophet Mohammed, the city was shaken by the commotion which involved rock throwing and the reports that people were hitting each other with pieces of timber.
The entire unedited clip is available on our YouTube channel. Watch it here.
The YouTube clip is a terribly substandard “trailer” for an alleged movie called “Innocence of Muslims” and it really is sad to think that we live in a world where people would fight over the depiction of the figure worshipped by some. Think about how many times “Jesus” has appeared onscreen. Family Guy and South Park spring to mind instantly. The difference here though is that we live in a generation where debating the existence of a deity is nothing unusual, with protesting and threats of murder being rather low on the agenda of some of the most “radical” Christians.
Now, I don’t think that the entire selection of Australia’s Islamic community would have behaved like this, but it paints a horrible picture for a country that unofficially lives on the slogan “love it or leave it” – and in many instances I agree. After all, the Australian census statistics often show that the vast majority of the country’s population is either Commonwealth Christians or Agnostic/Atheists. (For those concerned, the 2012 Australian Census states that 2.2% of the nation are practicing Muslims)
Freedom of speech is one thing, but you’re drawing a fine line when you have a young child holding a sign that reads “behead all those who insult the prophet”
The trend of violent signs didn’t end there, with one of many reading “Our dead are in paradise, your dead are in hell”.
This “little” amateur video has sparked a lot of controversy within the world. Allow me to list all of the areas that have reported similar riots to Sydney’s due to the film:
Libya Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Iran Kuwait Pakistan Afghanistan Bangladesh Gaza Strip Tunisia Lebanon Sudan Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Indonesia, Jordan, Mauritania, Qatar, Kenya, Malaysia, Bahrain, and Jerusalem
The director of the film is currently in hiding.
