We in the U.S. are lucky to live in a country that enjoys freedom of speech and of the press. Anyone can write an article or make a video, and then turn it loose onto the internet. Unfortunately, this means that lots of ignorant, hateful, or simply stupid material makes its way around the world, such as the anti-Islam movie that has inflamed ill-will across the Middle East.
The most striking element of this debacle for me has been the disconnect between people’s perceptions of freedom of expression, and what it actually entails. There was at first (and I’m sure still exists) a belief among some Egyptian protesters that, because the offensive film in question had been successfully distributed on the internet, the American government was not only aware of it but approved of it. How else could it have been made public? “How could Obama have let this onto the internet?” I overheard someone wonder. I’ve had to explain more than a few times that, when people have the freedom to say and upload anything they want, they very often say offensive things. Part of democracy is learning to deal with that fact, and then formulating and expressing opinions on why you don’t agree with it.
Many Egyptian students have expressed sympathy over Ambassador Stevens’ death in Libya and the attacks on the American embassy in Cairo. They usually follow their condolences up with a hope that I don’t form an unfavorable impression of their country based on a “violent minority,” as one of them called it. I assure them that there’s no danger of that happening. There is always a crowd around the dorm’s common room television these days, usually comprised of tired-looking university employees bemoaning the violence and making all sorts of foreign policy suggestions.
Ironically enough, I’ve had a very quiet week. I’ve either been on the New Cairo campus, or on Zamalek, the island in the Nile where I live. The crowds there are friendly as ever, so it was disconcerting to think about the chaos going on by the embassy, only a short taxi ride away. If not for the news and updates from others, I would not have known what was happening.
However, it is happening. I am disappointed that people both at home and abroad are probably forming even more unfavorable opinions of each other based on the ignorant actions of minorities on both sides. I am encouraged by recent events here, though. Follow-up protests have been cancelled, and many violent demonstrators have been arrested. Insha’Allah, in the long run, this is just a bump on the road of Egyptian democracy.