1. Jerusalem Post (http://www.jpost.com)
Official doubts anti-Islam film creator's identity, 12 September 2012
by Tom Tugend, JPost Correspondent, Reuters
High-ranking Israeli official in LA says no one is familiar with Sam Bacile, expresses doubt a person by that name exists.
ANGELES – Everyone was looking for Sam Bacile on Wednesday, but nobody seemed to even know if he existed.
A high-ranking Israeli official in Los Angeles said that after numerous inquiries, it appeared that no one in the Hollywood film industry or in the local Israeli community knew of Bacile, the supposed Israeli-born director/scriptwriter of the incendiary Innocence of Muslims that stirred an attack on the US mission in Libya and the killing of US Ambassador John Christopher Stevens.
The official expressed some doubt that a person by that name actually existed.
A US-based Egyptian Christian, Morris Sadek, who promoted the film on his blog on behalf of the National American Coptic, said on Wednesday that Bacile, “an American,” was behind the film.
Clips of the film showed a scrappy production portraying the Muslim prophet Muhammad variously as bloodthirsty, a womanizer, a homosexual, a child abuser, a fool and a religious fake.
According to clips, the movie’s first section, set in the modern era, shows Egyptian Coptic Christians fleeing from an angry Muslim mob. Egyptian police look on while the mob smashes up a clinic where a Christian doctor works. Then it shows the doctor talking to his daughter about what makes an “Islamic terrorist.”
After that, the clips shift to historical scenes from the period of Muhammad, most of these based on sets where the actors are clearly superimposed on a desert background.
Muhammad is referred to as an illegitimate “bastard,” shown as philandering with women and also portrayed as a homosexual. One scene shows him in an apparent sexual act with one of his wives and later with other women.
In another scene, a Christian priest offers to draw up a religious text based on verses from the Torah and the New Testament to make them into what he calls “false verses” – an apparent reference to the genesis of the Koran.
In the film, Muhammad is portrayed as a bloodthirsty leader, encouraging his followers to loot places they attack and saying they can use children in whatever way they wish.
For many Muslims, any depiction of the prophet is blasphemous. Caricatures or other characterizations deemed insulting in the past have enraged Muslims across the world, provoking protests and violence and drawing condemnations from officials, preachers, ordinary Muslims and many Christians in the region.
Sadek, said he was sorry that US diplomats were killed.
Sadek said his objective in backing the film was to highlight discrimination against Christians who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 83 million people.
He said his priority in promoting the film was encouraging people to see its first part, which includes scenes of an angry mob of Islamists trashing a clinic belonging to a Christian while the Egyptian police do nothing to stop them.
“I am only [leading] a Coptic organization that promoted the film. I am only interested in the first part about persecution of Copts,” Sadek said.
2. Malaysiakini（http://www.malaysiakini.com）
(1) Inter-faith group wants all religions taught in schools, 13 September 2012
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) called on the government to include a new provision in the national education policy that allows all religions to be taught in schools.
In a short statement issued today, the inter-faith group said the call was a resolution proposed by the Christian Federation of Malaysia and unanimously adopted by delegates during the 30th MCCBCHST annual general meeting held on July 14.
"In its ongoing discussions with the government of Malaysia and with the Education Ministry and the education department, the MCCBCHST shall propose and put forward as part of the national education policy the provision that all religions be allowed to teach their respective scriptures in national or in government-aided schools.
“For example, the (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) SPM Bible Knowledge in the case of the Christians,” read the statement.
It also proposed that the examinations of such subjects be prepared and graded by the respective authorities of each religion and recognised by both the Education Ministry and the education department.
(2) 'US must act against anti-Prophet movie', 13 September 2012
by Ghazali Hasbullah, Wan Shah Jihan Wan Din & Sulaiman Akhlakan
Dear Mr President of USA and USA ambassadors all over the world, at the moment when the world is at the brink of change of the millennium and has developed a deeper understanding of mutual peace which cuts across race and religion, we as Malaysian Muslims are shocked with the creation of the amateur film ‘Innocence of Muslims' by Sam Bacile.
Indeed, his work of art is highly provocative, blasphemous and has a total disregard of Muslim sensitivity towards their Islamic devotion of Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
Whilst history recorded that Muhammad PBUH liberated Mecca in absolute obedience to God from idolatry practice, without any bloodshed, Sam Bacile propagates that Muhammad was a terrorist.
When Muhammad PBUH by Allah's Revelation, stated that any man can only commit himself to a maximum of four wives in line with a proper contract (Nikah) and equal responsibilities - rather than committing adultery and being in numerous secret relationships to any women that a man desires- Sam condemns him as a womaniser.
For the record, Muhammad only married one virgin (Aishah) and stayed married to one woman i.e. Khadija, until she died.
Then, only then, the Prophet PBUH married widows of martyrs of holy wars to help them. Are these the qualities of a womaniser?
Everywhere in the world where there are crises, Muslims are oppressed and killed. How could this justify Muslims as terrorists and when and if we retaliate, is it not an act of defense?
Please put forward any proof from your observation of any oppression towards other religions besides Islam in Malaysia or Indonesia?
Why the double standards? Why are Muslims being so closely scrutinised and vigorously criticised for their acts of religious devotion?
We strongly urged that all of you to recommend to the USA president, Barack Obama, to stop any kind of activities connected to the appalling video.
Please bear in mind that all this uproar might have an opposite aftermath which is not the result foreseen by Sam Bacile in inciting hatred towards our Prophet PBUH.
Lastly, we would like to request all embassies to take part in condemning such actions and to put pressure on those involved in such activities to stop future productions and distribution of the video through whatever channels and means.
Otherwise we are afraid that it will continue to stir up tension amongst Muslims like what has had happened in few Muslim countries, and thus have a direct impact on the relationship and trust with the USA.
・Ghazali Hasbullah, Wan Shah Jihan Wan Din and Sulaiman Akhlakan are Board Members of the Muslim Professional Network.
(3) 9/11 and Malaysia's political fetishes, 13 September 2012
by Alwyn Lau
Tragedy is tragic. And we're not all equipped to deal with them. Malaysians can eat six helpings at a buffet but most of us can't deal with six minutes of tribulation.
If a loved one passes away suddenly or if an unexpected accident occurs or if we get fired without warning (or if there's a chance we may lose our parliamentary majority yet again, if not the parliament itself), there are a few things we could do.
One, we could pick up the pieces and move on. Or, two, we could deny it. Or, three, we could choose option #2 but act as if it's option #1.
There is this case (one of thousands, I suspect) of a young man who lost his beautiful wife to cancer very early in the marriage.
When his friends visited him to console him, he appeared fine, well-balanced emotionally, more than able to cope and very accepting of the loss. This was surprising - but also disturbing.
Because each time the friends visited, they noticed that the man - the bereaved widower - always had a hamster near him, which he kept playing with every now and then.
It was later confirmed that the problem was deeper than the impression the man gave, because a few weeks after the wife died, so did the hamster, after which the man suffered an emotional breakdown, spiraled into manic depression and even tried to kill himself.
The hamster, in other words, acted as a fetish i.e. a substitute, a stand-in, which helped the man cope with his tragic loss.
When the reality of something traumatic hits us or is imminent, we may grab desperately at something which keeps the horror at bay, which provides a psychological umbrella from the agony about to rain down on us.
It needn't even be a tragedy, but a potential romantic occasion. But some guys are afraid of actually being with the girl, so they steal pieces of her clothing or her watch or a lock of her hair or something.
Mental defence condensed into a piece of realia.
Of course, there are also extreme examples like unrestrained sex, drugs, workaholicism, irresponsible shopping, cruelty, excessive sleep, reading The Star (no, just kidding), sports fanaticism, and so on.
As long as this ‘thing' or activity is close to me, life is bearable.
What does this have to do with politics in Malaysia?
Well, we have an incumbent government who's so badly messed up the country via cronyism, racism, religious manipulation, scare tactics and bad speeches yet persists in implementing amendments like Section 114A, flexing police muscles against human rights activists and producing dubious education reports.
Malaysia is suffering from inflation, pollution, a distorted media and brain-drain yet the present administration goes after flag-innovators, protesters with really loose pants and senior poets.
Does it not appear as if authority itself has become a fetish, a freaky substitute for responsible leadership?
This looks like a bad Malaysian version of George Bush's directive to Americans after the 9/11 attacks.
The First Man's exhortation to the country after the worst kind of violence on United States' soil was not work more responsibly, it wasn't love and forgive more, it wasn't listen harder, it wasn't think more creatively - it was 'Shop More' (and if Bush was Malaysian, we all know the message would've been 'Don't Eat Less').
Why this message? Because it concealed and pushed aside the disturbing truth of America's imperialism and militarism, to which the towers collapsing was a tragic wake-up call.
When the number of culprits is less than 20 and they fly three planes into three buildings, it's called terrorism.
When the number of soldiers number over 20,000 and they fly more than 2000 planes to bomb two countries, it's called the 'War on Terror'. That's what fetishism does: it distorts reality.
Likewise, Malaysia's ruling regime's memo to the country in the wake of near-severe socio-political upheavals is not let's stop corruption, it's not let's spend wisely, it's not let's gag Ibrahim Ali - it's "Street demos aren't our style". No?
But offering bailouts to failing companies owned by our cousins' cousins apparently is?
When it's students gathering at night shouting into a cheap bullhorn for democracy, it's called a disturbance.
When it's crony ministers speaking into expensive mikes and making empty promises, it's called a Merdeka rally.
Propaganda and media presence are two very popular fetishes for bad leaders under pressure.
And yet, corrupt politicians are not the only ones with a fetish. The common citizen can also be affected. We don't want to believe that our jobs, our homes, our values, our learning and our public spaces stand to be threatened by a political elite manipulating resources and ideas.
So we tell ourselves let's not get political. We sense something isn't right, but why have serious conversations when our Facebook page - another fetish - streams forth yet another pointless Gangnam video?
Pro-democracy NGOs' need money but we'd rather spend our cash on MANGO clothes.
Does anyone else get the feeling Malaysians are generally caught in a fantasy which keeps us returning to fetishes of all kinds?
What's the story we tell ourselves? What's our hamster? Most importantly, how do we kill it?
(4) Muhyiddin, Anwar slam anti-Muhammad film, 14 September 2012
The country’s top politicians, from both sides of the divide, are coming out in condemnation of the controversial film ‘Innocence of Muslims’ largely said to feature a false and insensitive depiction of the Prophet Muhammad.
The latest leader to speak out against the film is Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who, in a Bernama report today, said he instructed the authorities to prohibit its distribution in Malaysia.
"We Muslims cannot accept (films which insult Prophet Muhammad). It is a major offence. We cannot allow this, whether it is in the form of films, words or whatever.
“It is my personal opinion that we should ban the film. We should not allow any act which insults Prophet Muhammad,” he was quoted saying.
He further said the film was an “evil deed disrespectful of religion” and felt its motive was to spark inter-religious clashes detrimental to the world community.
His criticism followed that of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who earlier today also condemned the “anti-Islamic” film calling it a scheme to “hurt Muslim sensitivities and stir chaos”.
Calling on the United States government to take action against the individuals responsible, he said the “disgusting and despicable” flim must be withdrawn as it “abuses” free speech “for the purpose of committing hate crimes”.
“A line must be drawn between sacrilege and blasphemy on the one hand, and free speech or even artistic licence on the other,” Anwar said in a statement.
The film is not only offensive to Muslims but to all religions and it must not be allowed to be used as an excuse for violence.
Instead, Anwar renewed calls for inter-religious ties and dialogues to quash misunderstanding and ill-will.
'Don't play into filmmaker's hands'
Condemning the “senseless” killing of American diplomats in Libya, purportedly a backlash to the film, he called on Muslims not to play into the filmmakers' hands by reacting violently.
“It is clear that the conspirators behind this movie want to sow animosity and strife among religions and peoples,” he said.
The film was also condemned by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar (left), who called upon the US government to take action against the film's producers for their “wild provocation”.
'Innocence of Muslims', said to be by filmmaker Sam Bacile, portrays the Prophet Muhammad as a philanderer and child abuser.
However, the film's cast and crew said the film had been “taken advantage” of by Bacile and that they were “grossly misled” about the film's intent and purpose.
“We are shocked by the drastic rewrites of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred,” they said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
3. Haaretz （http://www.haaretz.com）
California man confirms role in anti-Islam film that sparked deadly Libya violence, 13 September 2012
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula says he was manager for the company that produced 'Innocence of Muslims,' which mocked Muslims and the prophet Muhammad.
by DPA and The Associated Press
The search for those behind the provocative, anti-Muslim film implicated in violent protests in Egypt and Libya led Wednesday to a California Coptic Christian convicted of financial crimes who acknowledged his role in managing and providing logistics for the production.
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, told The Associated Press in an interview outside Los Angeles that he was manager for the company that produced "Innocence of Muslims," which mocked Muslims and the prophet Muhammad and may have caused inflamed mobs that attacked U.S. missions in Egypt and Libya. He provided the first details about a shadowy production group behind the film.
Nakoula denied he directed the film and said he knew the self-described filmmaker, Sam Bacile. But the cell phone number that AP contacted Tuesday to reach the filmmaker who identified himself as Sam Bacile traced to the same address near Los Angeles where AP found Nakoula. Federal court papers said Nakoula's aliases included Nicola Bacily, Erwin Salameh and others.
Nakoula told the AP that he was a Coptic Christian and said the film's director supported the concerns of Christian Copts about their treatment by Muslims.
Nakoula denied he had posed as Bacile. During a conversation outside his home, he offered his driver's license to show his identity but kept his thumb over his middle name, Basseley. Records checks by the AP subsequently found it and other connections to the Bacile persona.
The AP located Bacile after obtaining his cell phone number from Morris Sadek, a conservative Coptic Christian in the U.S. who had promoted the anti-Muslim film in recent days on his website. Egypt's Christian Coptic population has long decried what they describe as a history of discrimination and occasional violence from the country's Arab majority.
Pastor Terry Jones of Gainesville, Florida, who burned Qurans on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, said he spoke with the movie's director on the phone Wednesday and prayed for him. He said he has not met the filmmaker in person, but the man contacted him a few weeks ago about promoting the movie.
"I have not met him. Sam Bacile, that is not his real name," Jones said. "I just talked to him on the phone. He is definitely in hiding and does not reveal his identity. He was quite honestly fairly shook up concerning the events and what is happening. A lot of people are not supporting him."
The film was implicated in protests that resulted in the burning of the U.S. consulate Tuesday in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.
Libyan officials said Wednesday that Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other embassy employees were killed during the mob violence, but U.S. officials now say they are investigating whether the assault was a planned terrorist strike linked to Tuesday's 11-year anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Nakoula, who talked guardedly about his role, pleaded no contest in 2010 to federal bank fraud charges in California and was ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution. He was also sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered not to use computers or the Internet for five years without approval from his probation officer.
The YouTube account, "Sam Bacile," which was used to publish excerpts of the provocative movie in July, was used to post comments online as recently as Tuesday, including this defense of the film written in Arabic: "It is a 100 percent American movie, you cows."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Leigh Williams said Nakoula set up fraudulent bank accounts using stolen identities and Social Security numbers, then checks from those accounts would be deposited into other bogus accounts from which Nakoula would withdraw money at ATM machines.
It was "basically a check-kiting scheme," the prosecutor told the AP. "You try to get the money out of the bank before the bank realizes they are drawn from a fraudulent account. There basically is no money."
The actors in the film issued a joint statement Wednesday saying they were misled about the project and said some of their dialogue was crudely dubbed during post-production.
In the English language version of the trailer, direct references to Muhammad appear to be the result of post-production changes to the movie. Either actors aren't seen when the name "Muhammad" is spoken in the overdubbed sound, or they appear to be mouthing something else as the name of the prophet is spoken.
"The entire cast and crew are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer," said the statement, obtained by the Los Angeles Times. "We are 100 percent not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose. We are shocked by the drastic rewrites of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred."
The person who identified himself as Bacile and described himself as the film's writer and director told the AP on Tuesday that he had gone into hiding. But doubts rose about the man's identity amid a flurry of false claims about his background and role in the purported film.
Bacile told the AP he was an Israeli-born, 56-year-old, Jewish writer and director. But a Christian activist involved in the film project, Steve Klein, told AP on Wednesday that Bacile was a pseudonym and that he was Christian.
Klein had told the AP on Tuesday that the filmmaker was an Israeli Jew who was concerned for family members who live in Egypt.
Officials in Israel said there was no record of Bacile as an Israeli citizen.
When the AP initially left a message for Bacile, Klein contacted the AP from another number to confirm the interview request was legitimate then Bacile called back from his own cell phone.
Klein said he didn't know the real name of the man he called "Sam," who came to him for advice on First Amendment issues.
About 15 key players from the Middle East — from Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran and a couple Coptic Christians from Egypt — worked on the film, Klein said.
"Most of them won't tell me their real names because they're terrified," Klein said. "He was really scared and now he's so nervous. He's turned off his phone."
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, said Klein is a former Marine and longtime religious-right activist who has helped train paramilitary militias at a California church. It described Klein as founder of Courageous Christians United, which conducts protests outside abortion clinics, Mormon temples and mosques.
It quoted Klein as saying he believes that California is riddled with Muslim Brotherhood sleeper cells "who are awaiting the trigger date and will begin randomly killing as many of us as they can."
In his brief interview with the AP, Bacile defiantly called Islam a cancer and said he intended the film to be a provocative political statement condemning the religion.
But several key facts Bacile provided proved false or questionable. Bacile told AP he was 56 but identified himself on his YouTube profile as 74. Bacile said he is a real estate developer, but Bacile does not appear in searches of California state licenses, including the Department of Real Estate.
Hollywood and California film industry groups and permit agencies said they had no records of the project under the name "Innocence of Muslims," but a Los Angeles film permit agency later found a record of a movie filmed in Los Angeles last year under the working title "Desert Warriors."
A man who answered a phone listed for the Vine Theater, a faded Hollywood movie house, confirmed that the film had run for a least a day, and possibly longer, several months ago, arranged by a customer known as "Sam."
Google Inc., which owns YouTube, pulled down the video Wednesday in Egypt, citing a legal complaint. It was still accessible in the U.S. and other countries.
Klein told the AP that he vowed to help make the movie but warned the filmmaker that "you're going to be the next Theo van Gogh." Van Gogh was a Dutch filmmaker killed by a Muslim extremist in 2004 after making a film that was perceived as insulting to Islam.
"We went into this knowing this was probably going to happen," Klein said.
（End）
