US Ambassador to Libya Killed

Christopher Stevens, US Ambassador to Libya, was killed in an attack in Benghazi, Libya, yesterday. Stevens had gone to UC Berkeley undergrad, taught English for the Peace Corps in Morocco, got a JD from UC Hastings, and spoke French and Arabic. This is the first assassination of a sitting US Ambassador since 1979.

Christopher Stevens, US Ambassador to Libya, RIP

The craziest part of this is the cause: a movie clip put on YouTube. The movie, "Innocence of Islam," reportedly shows a fictional attack on a Christian family by Muslims and then, in describing the origins of Islam, depicted the Prophet Mohammed as a womanizer, pedophile, or homosexual (possibly all three). Unsurprisingly, the Muslim world is very upset about the film, as it is an insult to Islam to depict the Prophet Mohammed in any way, much less in a negative way. The connection with America? The filmmaker was an Israeli living in California, Sam Bacile, and it was promoted by over 100 Jewish donors and the Qu'ran-burning Florida pastor Terry Jones, among others. The violence has been in Libya and Egypt, both of whom recently lost their presidents, straining their relationship with the US (the US contributed to the ousting of Gaddafi in Libya and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt post-Mubarek has put the US on edge).

Riots in Benghazi, Libya

Random Kate Thoughts: The eternal battle between Muslims and Christians has been a constant theme in African history since the arrival on the continent of the two religions. The US is not known for its tact in North Africa or the Middle East regarding Islam, and so this movie was another step in convincing the region that Americans are out to get them, though obviously the US government was in no way involved in the making of the film. The really unfortunate part is that the filmmaker has gone into hiding, but not before being interviewed and describing Islam as a "cancer." It is clear that he and others promoting the film mean this as an attack on Islam, and Muslims will take it that way. Once again, Americans will see on their tvs footage of Muslims using automatic weapons to try to kill their brothers and sisters, and any attempts for moderate Muslims in the US and the world to explain that Islam is at root a peaceful religion (well, as peaceful as Christianity) will be once again moot.