An Analysis of YouTube in a Context of Removed 2012 anti-Islam Film ‘Innocence of Muslims’
Introduction
Religious conflicts have become a weighty political matter. A recent survey indicated that if the war between Christians and Muslims is not ended in time, it poses a great threat to our future generations. (Butt, 2007). The spotlight has been often directed at Christianity and Islam since they are the world’s two largest religious groups. Both having emerged from Judaism, their countless similarities add on to the complexity of their antagonism.
The Media has not made things any easier with its keen focus on documentaries and films such as ‘The boys of St. Vincent’ (Vulture Lists, 2007) have been inclined to the complex image of a pedophilic catholic priest and expresses great danger in Catholicism and “Innocence of Muslims’ which is a poorly acted, offensive mockery of The Muslim prophet Muhammad, (Schou, 2012), portraying him as a greedy, violent homosexual. (BBC, 2012). A shocking revelation however indicates that these religious conflicts are mostly rooted in political territories since religion has had some prominence in the political scene. (Lewis, 2007)
The internet has been at the heart of such campaigns. As opposed to the TV set that took 30 years to be acquired in 40 million households in the US, internet took only 4 years to attain a similar status. (Cerf, 2009) This means that role played by the internet is quite crucial, making it the single most useful tool of communication today.
Many arguments have arisen from its description as a public sphere owing to the fact that it is also a hub of social, political, religious and even leisurely activities where views and opinions are formulated and no restraint is given to any individual. (Ubayasiri, 2006).
In this paper, I intend to analyze one of its many forums and the critical role played as a public sphere by zeroing in on YouTube as a channel in the context of the removed anti-Islam film ‘Innocence of the Muslims’ and how its broadcasting influenced the relationship between Muslims and Christians.
Research Methodology
I propose to carry out my research in four levels. I intend to take the descriptive and analytical approach. It will involve making of fact-finding enquiries of different kinds while maintaining an objective point of view. (Kothari,2004).
First and foremost, I will take an in-depth look into YouTube. I take this channel as a platform for information sharing in the form of video clips. This program is most suitable since conveying images and video clips is an activity that appeals to more people as opposed to sharing written media which demands literacy skills. I am also inclined to the analysis of YouTube since among many other video hosting websites, it happens to be the only one whose content is fully generated and supplied by the user, serving up to 100 million users daily. (USA Today, 2008).
Secondly, I am also interested in Muslims as a target audience for these broadcasting films. Extensive research indicates that it is virtually impossible for audiences of media to bear a unanimous interpretation much less the intended one. This means that even in a situation where no offense is intended, some people will only decipher it in a negative context. This thus makes the background knowledge of the audience of much importance. This will also justify of disqualify their violent reaction to the film’s broadcast that was characterized by protests by Islamic nationals among other nations that share common beliefs. (New York Times, 2012).
It will be then followed by an investigation of the opposition with the aim of unraveling the actual intention of the film. This is to rule out the possibility that it was uploaded onto YouTube with the intent of creating a friendly mockery or an intended joke which later gets heavily mis-interpreted by the audience, ending in a disaster.
In addition to that, I will also assess the political lifeline of religion. Research has shown that most religious fallouts and conflicts have been linked to external political influence, disguised as religious differences. I will therefore actively involve myself in the religious arena so as to enable myself to expose any political leaders who may be fueling these conflicts.
In conclusion, I will use the information gathered to develop a set of proposed suitable measures and solutions that may possibly narrow the rift that exists between Christians and Muslims.
References
Butt. R and Hopper. J, (2007), Conflict between religions threatens future of the world, Muslim leaders tell Pope, The Guardian, Friday 12 October 2007
Schou . S, (2007), Report: Original Script for ‘Innocence of Muslims’ told story of Muhammad stand-in named ‘George’
Vulture Lists, (1993), Top Ten Anti-Christian Films.
Ubayasiri. K, (2006), Internet & The Public Sphere: A Glimpse of YouTube.
Cerf. V. G, (2009), A Decade of Internet Revolution: Internet Protocal Journal, Volume 2, No 2.
BBC News Middle East, 2012, Q&A: Anti-Islam Film.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19606155
Kothari, C, R, 2004, Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, Second Revised Edition, India: Delhi, New Age International Publishers.
Lewis. P. W. (2007), Summary: A Symposium on Religious Conflict in Nigeria.
USA Today, 2008,Youtube serves up 100 million videos a day online
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-07-16-youtube-views_x.htm
New York Times, 2012, Anger Over a Film Fuels Anti-American Attacks in Libya and Egypt.
