DEATH OF A DIPLOMAT RAISES CONCERNS:

Sarah,

A United States diplomat was killed in Libya after protesters attacked and set fire to the U.S. Embassy.  Our Embassy in Egypt was also attacked.  The attacks raise several more general concerns:

1.  The precipitating event was a video posted on YouTube that insults Islam.  Supposedly the video was posted by people in America and depicts Muhammad and his followers as “child lovers” and questions whether he loves women.  This is concerning because anyone can post videos on YouTube at any time.  Does this mean that anyone in the world can start an anti-American riot by simply posting a YouTube video attacking Islam and claiming to be an American?

2.  Florida preacher Terry Jones promoted the video.  This preacher is famous for publicly burning Korans in 2011, an event that set off riots in Afghanistan.  Now it seems he is able to effectuate riots in Egypt and Libya too.  This guy does not seem to be slowing down.

3.  Both Egypt and Libya recently underwent revolutions and these protests serve as evidence that both countries are still very volatile.

4.  Protesters in Egypt accuse Coptic Christians in America with creating the video.  Coptic Christians follow a branch of Christianity based in Alexandria, Egypt.  Coptic Christians amount to 10% of Egypt’s population.  In recent years, tensions between Muslims and Coptic Christians have risen.  Accusations that Coptic Christians created the video highlights this troubling trend.