Thousands of Muslims Protest 'Age of Mockery' At Google's London Headquarters

cold fjord writes "A large protest planned by as many as 800 imams was held today at Google's London headquarters to protest the video, 'The Innocence of Muslims,' which is available on Google's subsidiary YouTube. There may have been as many as 10,000 protesters in what is said to be the first of several planned protests. From the story: 'Speeches by more than a dozen imams . . . urged Muslims to honor the name of the Prophet and not to back down in the face of Google's continuing reluctance to act, and were met with passionate cries of "God is Great" and "Mohammad is the Prophet of God" in Arabic. . . One of the speakers. . . told The Daily Telegraph: "Terrorism is not just people who kill human bodies, but who kill human feelings as well. The makers of this film have terrorized 1.6 billion people." A YouTube spokesperson said: "We work hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and which also enables people to express different opinions. "This can be a challenge because what's OK in one country can be offensive elsewhere. This video — which is widely available on the Web — is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube."'"

Comments

Don't watch it

[Nerdfest]

It's not like TV stations are slipping this video in amongst their shows and commercials to trick you into watching it. If you don't like it, don't watch it, and stop trying to force your religious views on others.

Re:Don't watch it

[FrostedWheat]

That won't work, most of them haven't watched it anyway.

Re:Don't watch it

[Nerdfest]

Child pornography causes a very large amount of harm to children. The video in question hurts some people's feelings. Comparing the two is a vast stretch of the imagination.

Re:Don't watch it

[mfh]

That won't work, most of them haven't watched it anyway.

This is exactly why religion is bad. You take an invisible dude in a toga and put him in control of morality!!!! Well there's your problem. The premise of religion is immoral because it's based upon a lie.

Re:Don't watch it

[Andy Dodd]

That's the big difference... Nothing about "Innocence of Muslims" encouraged anyone to go murdering Muslims...

Do you see thousands of Jews protesting Sacha Baron Cohen's works or those of Mel Brooks because they can be considered insulting to Judaism? No. A few complain, but no massive outpourings of rage and no one was murdered.

Do you see people rioiting and murdering people because of Piss Christ or South Park Jesus? Nope.

Re:Don't watch it

[CanHasDIY]

That won't work, most of them haven't watched it anyway.

This is exactly why religion is bad. You take an invisible dude in a toga and put him in control of morality!!!!

Close, but not exactly right - the problem is not the "invisible dude in a toga," it's the very much corporeal confidence men who convince people that if they don't do what the confidence man tells them, the aforementioned invisible dude will make their lives miserable. Oh, and the people who allow themselves to be conned thusly; personal responsibility and all that.


FWIW, plenty of people go through life believing in some form of god without ever shoving their beliefs down anyone else's throat. You just never hear about these people because they aren't uptight, pompous dicks.

Re:Don't watch it

[ZankerH]

It never "went viral" until the delusional morons started acting butthurt over it in public, and possibly not even then. Outrage went viral, not the video itself.

Re:Don't watch it

[Valtor]

That won't work, most of them haven't watched it anyway.

This is exactly why religion is bad...

Actually, the issue is dogma. Any dogma, not just religious ones.

Re:Don't watch it

[mabhatter654]

This is like the Janet Jackson Wardrobe malfunction a few editions of the "professional pigskin championship" ago.

I was actually watching WHEN it happened and it was under 2 seconds. On a super long range shot. In the middle of a football field.

In short NOBODY in the stands could have identified what happened. Nobody without rewind, pause, and frame-by-frame could see it. It was only news because they made it news, and a bunch of people that NEVER SAW it when it happened made a bunch of noise.

That's the same thing happening here.

Re:Don't watch it

[fustakrakich]

You take an invisible dude in a toga and put him in control of morality!!!!

You create invisible dude in a toga so that you can control a population. Who cares if it's based on a lie? It works, and that's all that matters.There is no morality behind any of it, that's part of the trick to divert your attention. However, the practicality has proven itself over and over again.

Re:Don't watch it

[interval1066]

The thing I fid interesting is that on one hand you have "don't watch it if you don't want to be offended/Free speech Yaaaaaay!!!!

I find the current trend to discount the importance of free speach disturbing. Its interesting to me that it seems more important to supress dissent/alternative views/ideas more important than offending the adherents of what is a mysogenistic and developmentally backwards offshoot of a religion. Just becuase some one is loud (and often violent) doesn't make them right. Just goes to show how dangerous an idea is if people feel the need to supress it. I find the idea of jihad increadibly dangerous. I believe it needs to be supressed.

Re:Don't watch it

[man_of_mr_e]

Actually, CNN was claiming (not reporting) that there was rumor of a terrorist attack. Fox was claiming it *WAS* a terrorist attack within minutes of the story leaking.

As what happens with a stopped clock, it's right once or twice in a while... Fox got lucky, they didn't have any special inside information or know anything. They *WANTED* it to be a terrorist attack, they claimed it was a terrorist attack long before there was any evidence, and now they're gloating about (accidentally) being right for a change and pretending that because their fabricated story turned out to be true, that meant the white house was lying.

Yeah... ok.

Re:Don't watch it

[Shatrat]

Yes, the offices of CBS were attacked around the world and people died. Same thing.

Re:Don't watch it

[Anonymous Coward]

Religion is a special case. With [insert non-religious dogma here], it's often very difficult to convince people to die for your cause, you know... because of death and the will to live and stuff. With religion, you can promise them AN ETERNITY OF BLISS... see how there's a qualitative difference?

Re:Don't watch it

[man_of_mr_e]

First, such investigations are seldom public. The administration really has no responsibility to tell us ANYTHING until all the facts are known. Talking about an ongoing investigation is stupid, and I'm pissed that they're doing so.

Second, Romney *IS* exploiting it for political gain. In fact, he said back in March, in that infamous 47% video, that he was searching for an "Iran Hostage Crisis" kind of situation that he would exploit. Here's his exact quote:

Romney: âoeâ¦by the way, if something of that nature (referring to the hostage crises) presents itself, I will work to find a way to take advantage of the opportunity.â

So please tell me how he's NOT exploiting it for political gain, and how he'd never do such a thing.

Re:Don't watch it

[rtb61]

In this case religious nuts are actively trying to paint everything as terrorism, the slightest perceived insult of their nasty misogynist compulsory religion so that they can claim it as acceptable to react with violence. This protest is all about forcing their acceptance of their religious laws upon the rest of society through direct acts of physical coercion. Either accede to the superiority of their religious laws over the laws of the land or face direct physical attack. They are purposefully going out of their way, to choose to be insulted when their religion is criticised in any way, shape of form and when their crazy people in robes are set above the rest of us rather than tossed in the looney bin or prison as they would nowadays when they run around claiming to speak for god whilst abusing children.

If Google submits to this intimidation then they will have become truly evil and a threat to free speech. Their religion, their problem. Clearly in the case Muslims are well and truly crossing the bounds of freedom of religion in trying to force their religion upon others.

Re:Don't watch it

[metlin]

Reminds me of a quote by physicist Steven Weinberg:

"With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil â" that takes religion."

Refuse to be Terrorized

[Meneth]

This goes for all peoples, including muslims: Refuse to be Terrorized!

You're not terrorized by anything unless you choose to be.

When will these imams

[Vinegar Joe]

Protest videos of "unbelievers" being beheaded?

Terrorism of feelings?

[Anonymous Coward]

Terrorism is not just people who kill human bodies, but who kill human feelings as well.

I find this extremely offensive, not only because they're trying to control what other humans can think, but also because they dare to compare the mental outrage at an idea to the physical killing and torture of humans. These things are not even remotely comparable except at a philosophical level.

...

After calming down a bit, it seems evident to me that these people are simply unable to cope with the cognitive dissonance that their one true belief may not be so true after all.

It's your belief; deal with it yourself. Don't expect everyone else to change their lives because you can't handle opposing thoughts.

Hypocracy or stupidity?

[hack slash]

They're using the freedom of speech to complain about the freedom of speech.

No wonder they're being ridiculed.

Re:Hypocracy or stupidity?

[PolygamousRanchKid]

An open society lets the foul air in, as well as the fresh air.

When dealing with these folks, just remember not to be so open minded that your brains fall out.

Personally, I think that these Muslim folks are wearing out their welcome in western civilizations. They want to repeal our right to free speech, that many of us hold so dear as an integral pillar of what makes our societies so great.

Re:Thank's Google!

[Toonol]

The advertising revenue from a video with 16 million hits is too minor to have even factored into the decision.

Now, it may not have been strictly a corporate belief in free speech; it may have been a self-interested decision that if they start caving into demands like this they'll end up severely crippled in a few years... but I'm ok with that as a motivator.

No core problem

[AdmV0rl0n]

With their demostration - if it was peaceful.

And they should be allowed to demonstrate. Such is a fundamental of this society.
But its not lost on me, nor should it be lost on_anyone_else - that their demostrate and represent everything that would unhinge that democracy, and its many hard fought battles. No, you don't get to silence opposition to your 7th century religion, and its crimes. No , you don't get to stifle and limit freedom of expression, just because it challeneges your religion. No, you don't get to impose your 7th century barbarism by trying to be a 5th column. The removal of religion from state took many decades in this society. Efforts to swing your religious desires into politics, and then into religious dictatorship are obvious, and must not be allowed to succeed. Ever.

'Submission' as muslims is your right. If you wish to be so fucking stupid and submit to this garbage - thats a personal choice you can take as you wish. But I *never* submitted to it, and I will not be submitted to it, not even by proxy, not by PR, not by propaganda, and not by 3000 idiots with stupid beards, pygamas, and/or Ninja outfits and retarted stupid idiocy whining outside of Youtube/Google buildings.

This is a secular state. If you do not like it, please feel free to go and live in one of the now many islamic shithole states that plaster this globe. But here is the fun part. Most of you live here because you did not like it there very much. Thats a freedom you very much have as much as standing round outside of a google building offending me deeply.

Oh, sorry, I should not mock your ability to be deeply offended every 5 minutes by everyone and everything. But I did. Whoops.

Thank You Google

[Afty0r]

I just wanted to take a second out of my day, to say thank you to Google. To anyone who works there, who can influence Google, who knows an employee - please pass on my personal thanks for this staunch defence of free speech, in the face of what is probably the single most intimidating anti-free-speech group and protest the world has seen in my lifetime.

What you are doing is very worthy - and really stands to highlight the "Do No Evil" motto that Google is famous for, but that some people have (rightly or wrongly) started to bring into question recently.

Media providers must take their place in the defence of free speech - in the days of investigative journalism they actually tended to be more aggressive about this - and Youtube and other similar providers are absolutely vital in allowing the discourse and social interaction that we need as a community to grow and become better people.

Thank You,

Re:Perhaps Christians can set an example

[qbast]

And how many people exactly they killed over that film? None? Oh, maybe that's why Christian extremists are not painted as killers.

So... Jews are not the subject of jokes in the wes

[SmallFurryCreature]

So, you are saying that Jews are not the subject of jokes in the west? They are and the greatest jokes are told by Jews themselves, they take the piss out of themselves and their religion for a long time, it is one of the defining qualities of Jews in the west.

And if you want a good anti-catholic joke, look no further then catholics, they know a ton and will happily tell them, they too have plenty of self-ridicule or do you REALLY think any Catholic out there doesn't find it hilarious that beavers count as fish?

Protestants laugh about themselves too you just don't see it because they are to stoic to move face muscles.

There have been countless movies made taking the total piss out of religion and the number of deaths because of them is very very low (I can't say for certain nobody has been killed over movies like Life of Brian).

You do know that the simple joke of Moses coming down the mountain (a Jew) and dropping 5 of the 15 commandments would have Muslims (when someone dials-a-riot) up on arms if it was about Mohammad?

There is a large difference between ridiculling even belitteling a group of people and incitement to hatred. Anti-semitism doesn't say Moses raped goats, it says Jews are sub-human. Saying Mohammed is a pedo isn't saying Arabs are sub-human.

Re:Right now in London

[CanHasDIY]

Also in London, a 14 year old girl fighting for her life after a Muslim put a bullet in her brain because she wanted to go school.

Lets count the number of British Imams condemning the Muslims who attacked her, lets count the number marching on the streets in protest.

What more needs to be said.

That most generalizations are false, including this one.

Unless you're also expecting every Christian to come out and publicly denounce every abortion clinic bombing, every child-molesting preacher, every douchebag protester at military funerals with signs reading "God killed your son," demanding every Muslim in the world denounce the sins of the small number who actually engage in negative behavior just makes you come off as a childish moron with absolutely no understanding of society or human nature.

Re:"It's 2012" vs Last Temptation of Christ 1988

[habib23]

And how many things did the christians burn? How many people did they kill? Oh that's right, nothing and no one.

Also free speech as I define it only truly exists in the US so I'm not interested on what other countries did.