It’s all fun and games until an angry mob storms the embassy

I’m a big advocate of free speech. I think people should be able to express themselves openly on any topic without fear of reprisal. I like healthy debate, I enjoy hearing alternate views and I think society is best served when everyone has a chance to give their say. With that being said there is also a downside to free speech which has been on full display over the last few days in the Middle East. Namely that any moron with a video camera and access to the internet can upload an incendiary video about the founder of Islam and cause full-scale riots in multiple nations.

In case you haven’t been following the news of late here is a quick recap: A mystery individual created a trailer for a low-budget movie about the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims strictly forbid any visual depiction of Muhammad even if it is in a positive light. This movie is far from positive, in fact it shows the founder of Islam as a violent homosexual child molester. Once this trailer was posted to YouTube it garnered the attention of Fundamentalist Muslims. They were not amused and called for protests. Angry mobs then converged on the U.S. Embassies in Egypt and Libya and in the case of the latter they stormed the building and killed the Ambassador and three members of his security detail.

I’m not sure who is at fault for this incident. Do you point the finger at the people who made an inflammatory movie or the people who reacted to it with violence? Perhaps you could cast the blame on the internet and modern technology for making all of this possible.  Regardless of who is at fault there are definitely no winners. Four innocent people lost their lives over an amateur video. The diplomatic relations between the United States and a number of Middle Eastern nations are going to be severely strained. The person who made this video as well as all of actors in it are going to have to go into hiding for their personal safety. Perhaps the biggest casualty in all of this could be the Arab Spring movement. What looked like such a positive force for democracy in the region could easily be corrupted by extremists quick to take advantage of any slight to their religion. In fact we might be watching that unfold on live TV  over the next few days.

The bizarre trials of Hosni Mubarak and Warren Jeffs

A few weeks ago I was convinced that the Casey Anthony trial was going to be the weirdest court proceeding of 2011. It turns out it is not even going to be the strangest one this summer. There are two new candidates that have moved ahead of it on the lunacy meter. One involves an Arab dictator who screwed over his country during 30 years of authoritarian rule. The other involves the leader of a fringe Mormon group who screwed a lot of underage girls during his tenure as a “prophet” of the FLDS church. Despite the geographic distance and cultural differences between the two trials, they actually have quite a bit in common. They both involve defendants who thought they were above the law and acted with complete impunity when committing their crimes. Likewise, they have both produced courtroom spectacles that are as bizarre as they are entertaining.

Hosni Mubarak is the former president of Egypt. He was a ruthless dictator who maintained his power through rigged elections, massive inflows of foreign aid and an elaborate security apparatus. He was forced to resign in the face of massive protests that brought Egypt to a standstill in February. While those peaceful protests were taking place Mubarak ordered his private security forces to attack, beat, and shoot indiscriminately into the crowds of people. His hope was that this show of force would break the resolve of the opposition. It actually had the opposite effect in that it emboldened the protestors and isolated the army, causing the former to eventually defect and take sides with the opposition. Once Mubarak lost control of the military his fate was sealed and 30 years of dictatorial rule came to a close. He is now facing charges of premeditated murder for ordering those attacks and could get the death penalty if convicted.

His trial began earlier this week in surreal fashion. He is in ailing health so he had to be wheeled into court on a hospital gurney. Once inside the courtroom he was then placed into a steel cage where he could watch the proceedings and testify by microphone. Now it seems kind of like overkill to put an 80-year-old, bedridden man into a steel cage inside a courtroom that is already full or armed guards. However when you take into account that Hosni Mubarak was the most feared man in Egypt for the last 30 years you can start to understand the overabundance of caution. The Mubarak trial is like the television equivalent of the Super Bowl for the Arab world. Egyptians are captivated at the sight of their former dictator being humbled in the most demeaning fashion imaginable and I dare say that many are taking great pleasure in his misfortune.

Warren Jeffs was the self-proclaimed prophet of a fringe sect of the Mormon church. Known as the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints or FLDS, this group splintered from the more mainstream Mormons over the issue of polygamy back in 1932. Since then they have maintained a rather isolated existence in rural Utah and Arizona. They live in big compounds out in the boondocks and are distrustful of outsiders. By segregating themselves from the rest of society they have been able to practice some rather detestable traditions, namely allowing the male elders to have their way sexually with lots of preteen girls and banishing young boys who might mess up the ratio of men to women. Essentially they have been committing sexual abuse in the name of religion for the last 80 years.

In 2008 a young girl at an FLDS compound called a sexual abuse hotline to report some of these practices and the authorities then had legal justification to raid the compound. When that happened Warren Jeffs fled the state. He was later captured and forced to stand trial for the aggravated sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl. At his hearing he decided to fire his legal team and represent himself. Acting as his own lawyer he filed a number of motions claiming that God wanted the trial stopped. Surprisingly enough these claims of divine intervention did not sway the Judge or Jury and Warren Jeffs was found guilty of all charges. He is now awaiting sentencing and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

How the mighty have fallen. These two men who acted like  gods have been brought to justice for their sins and I couldn’t be happier. I think the world would be a much better place if there were a few less dictators willing to kill their own people to stay in power or religious nuts who felt they had a divine right to rape young girls.