ABSTRACT
The possibility of ‘Innocence of Muslims’ becoming intertwined with geopolitics illustrates Werbner’s (2000) observations that protests against such controversies are often played out against abstract entities that reflect international policy and military interventions. While distinguishing the international reaction to the video from any British equivalent, interviewees showed an understanding of the wider geopolitical context and a willingness to challenge any simplistic narrative that would see Libyans and Pakistanis as inherently illiberal and ‘fundamentalist’. One interviewee said:
What you saw in Libya and Pakistan, you have to consider the context and the antiAmerican feelings because of drone attacks and the Afghan war in Pakistan and how the government there has positioned itself. In Egypt too… the film I think was just a trigger for something – an outlet. They conflated American foreign policy and the movie… so the anger was misdirected. (Interviewee 7)
Another added:
For me the more extreme reactions in Pakistan [and elsewhere] are because of a simmering anti-Americanism. There are the drone attacks and the Israeli-American alliance so for me it is more about anti-Americanism than the video itself. And in Pakistan there is poverty, poor levels of education, social issues and there is anger at America. (Interviewee 2)
6. Conclusion: a measured anger?
