Your average Muslim and the YouTube Incident

I decided to do a piece in the wake of the recent events that struck the Muslim world, all stemming from one movie trailer on YouTube that spread misinterpretation about Islam as a religion of violence and depicted our Holy Prophet (PBUH) with extreme disregard.

Living in a country (Pakistan) where the Muslim population was sparked with utmost resentment, I was a witness to the protests that sprang up. There were so-called “Muslims” who wreaked havoc and rampaged the cities by vandalizing private property, killing almost 20 innocent civilians, looting banks and creating fear among the masses. The media also shed light only on these angry protestors and opportunistic criminals and not on the views of the educated majority who knew what the true gist of Islam was and how the matter was to be dealt; I was part of that majority.

It was frustrating to witness how the fearless, violent few, validated the picture of Islam that was portrayed by the ignorant film maker and how they disgustingly named the day in protest “Yaum-e-Ashiq-e-Rasool” (A day celebrating the love for Holy Prophet (PBUH)) when the heinous atrocities themselves were against the basic principles of the man they were trying to give an “ode” to.

However, I don’t blame the violent lot and the media entirely for spreading the negative energy. I also blame us as rational citizens of Pakistan for letting that energy persist. This picture depicts my sentiments of myself and of the many Muslim citizens who condemned such acts.

I, a person who upholds the basic belief that Islam is indeed an ideology of peace, compassion and love, could only do so much as upload a mere status on Facebook condemning the acts but remained passive with respect to going outside and stopping it in the face of adversity. I, your average Muslim, chose to bear the frustration when constant news of civilian unrest and destruction filled my eyes with darkness. I could only hope that it ends and wait for the next day to dawn upon the “normal” and the guilt of it all to eventually subside.

This is a representation of my guilt that doesn’t seem to wane. The violence has faded, the lives are lost but the scars haven’t really healed.

Post Notes: This article is based on the self-portrait of the writer, Bushra Akram.