Are you sure?
This bookmark will be removed from all folders and any saved notes will be permanently removed.
Eye on the World: widespread protests
Violent protests continued this week across much of the world, especially the Middle East and Africa, in response to a low-budget film/movie trailer made in the United States that depicts Islam and its founder Mohammed in a bad light. Violent protests began in Egypt and Libya last week, and included the killing of the US Ambassador to Libya and thirteen others at the US Consulate in Benghazi. Demonstrations turned violent for the first time in Indonesia and Afghanistan as rioters targeted US embassies and other American symbols. The movie trailer titled “Innocence of Muslims,” is is believed to have been made by a small group of individuals and has been condemned by the World Council of Churches.
How can those who yearn to see peace in the Middle East, and around the world, respond to the movie trailer and the surrounding protests?
One place to start is by reminding ourselves that God’s will for His children is peace and stability — not hateful rhetoric, unchecked zeal, or violence against another. Prayer purifies our motives, and God’s gentle correction precludes any thinking or acting that arises from a desire to harm or denigrate. This is the kind of prayer that heals hate, violence, and religious conflict.
“Prayer as protest” discusses how we can take a stand by recognizing and acknowledging God’s government and control over His creation. This kind of positive protest does not encourage violence or use inflammatory rhetoric; it calmly asserts that all each of us can see or witness is God expressing Himself through humanity, in qualities such as respect, unity, and security.
“The power of respect” explains how we can address violence that stems from a feeling of having been humiliated or disrespected, as seems to be the case with many of the protests connected with the “Innocence of Muslims” film. The author reminds us that we can each engage in “prayer that acknowledges the spiritual nature of every individual as God's very own expression. This true respect—the recognition of spiritual identity and divine worth—opens the door of consciousness to healing and progress.”
Inflammatory, malicious speech, or violent reactions, never come from God. His children are not locked in a cycle of hatred. As we pray for the Middle East and the world, let’s remember that each individual can be receptive to God’s direction, and that this direction always leads toward a recognition of our shared heritage as God’s reflection.