Identity and the Arab Spring

Benghazi Consulate on Fire on September 11, 2012 Over the past few weeks, the Arab Spring has faced what could possibly be its most dangerous hurdle. After a poorly made film that insulted Islam and the Prophet Mohammad, named "The Innocence of Muslims," was spread online, numerous protests occurred across the Middle East. Protestors burned American flags, others destroyed a symbol of American imperialism in my home country of Lebanon, and, at its worst, armed men attacked American embassies.  The attack on the US embassy in Libya ended with the death of three Americans, most notably the death of US Ambassador Chris Stevens.  With Stevens' death and the many protests across the Middle East, many American politicians jumped to the conclusion that the Arab Spring was a failure, and that democracy has no place in the Middle East or when coupled with Islam.

The protests were heavily documented as evidence that the vast majority of Arabs and Muslims hated the US.  There hasn't been as much coverage, however, on two separate questions.  First, do these protestors constitute a majority of the people? And second, why do these young men choose to resort to vilifying the United States government and its people for the actions of one idiotic YouTube video?

The first question I have is far more difficult to answer than the second.  According to The Huffington Post, 30,000 Libyans marched in opposition to the militias and the attack on the US consulate.  The participants greatly outnumber the 125 armed gunmen who attacked the US consulate, which Defense Secretary Panetta stated was deliberately planned.  This evidence clearly paints the picture that it was actually a minority of people who supported the attack in Libya, while a vast majority actually were vehemently opposed to the attack and the anti-American sentiment.  The other areas where there were protests were covered far less, but the fact that anti-American sentiment wasn't bubbling over in Libya paints a starkly different picture than the idea that there are many Arabs who despise the United States.

Protesters against "The Innocence of Muslims" in Bahrain Now the second question I have over this event is where the readings come into play.  If we exclude the idiots who chose to participate in the flag-burning and attacks on fast food restaurants who used anti-American sentiment as an excuse to participate in riots, then that leaves a number of people who truly believe that the US sanctioned the video and is legitimately anti-Islamic.  In an excerpt from Astra Taylor's documentary Examined Life, British-Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah brilliantly sums up this anger by stating that people feel a connection with millions or even billions of others because of shared identities.  In his example, he uses the connection of nationality, where "as an American, you exist in this kind of virtual relationship with 300 million people," but in the Arab World, where nationality is fractured due to constant tensions and failures by the states to take care of them, many people find that their most important connection does not lie in their nation, but in their religion.  The state in much of the Middle East can't provide healthcare or education or social services, so why should these young men connect their identity to the state instead of to their mosques (which often will provide them with all that the state doesn't)?  In that situation, where these young men associate themselves more closely to the mosque than almost anything else, if the leader of the mosque attacks the United States for the video and accuses it of attacking Islam, these young men will be outraged.  The video was uploaded in July, yet it only created public outcry when Sheikh Khaled Abdalla brought it to the public eye in Egypt.  The furor in Lebanon intensified when Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, told his fervent supporters to protest against the film.  When the leader of one's religion comes out and denounces the entire United States for insulting one's religion, which is often the most important factor in one's identity and life, that person will almost certainly become outraged and commit the stupid acts of violence that those protestors committed.

My conclusion for this is that while it makes sense that these people came up and responded to what is probably the most important factor in their lives, it certainly does not excuse the violence and absolute stupidity of associating one video produced by a radical who sought a response to the entire United States.  It also brings up how we can avoid other similar responses in the future.  The only solution here comes from the increasing influence of the state in the Middle East.  As the dictatorships and regimes are toppled and democracy becomes the norm, the state will steadily play a larger role in the lives of these men, creating an identity that could steadily replace the strength of the identity to the mosques.  As this happens, such violent responses will lessen and lessen.  The Arab Spring wasn't why so many people protested the video; in fact, I strongly believe the Arab Spring will eventually be the reason why there won't be similar responses in the future.