Rising Religious Intolerance: It's the Economy, Stupid
By Simona Sikimic
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2012
Events unfolding internationally over the past few weeks have made a mockery of religious freedoms. But it is not only the Arab and wider Muslim world where hatreds have boiled over. Europe and the U.S. too are witnessing a resurgence of intolerance.
On the surface, each side blames the other for religious hostilities and accuses one another of insensitivity. While this game is by no means new, the religious and cultural conflict has come to be defined through an additional dimension. The role of the economy has not been widely discussed but has caused numerous and varying effects around the world since the global recession began in 2008.
The outbreak of “Muslim rage”
It all started with a bizarre, offensive, privately funded movie trailer “The Innocence of Muslims” that depicts the Prophet Mohammed as a fraud whose violent and sexual acts inspire a religion bent on persecuting Christians, as well as opposing science and progress.
The video was posted on YouTube in June and ascended from obscurity to incite deadly protests across the Arab and wider Muslim world, offended by its blasphemous depictions of the Prophet. Suspiciously timed to coincide with the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the protests have killed many, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
http://www.theinternational.org/articles/256-rising-religious-intolerance-its-the-ec
