Finding himself increasingly irrelevant, Nasrallah wants to re-introduce himself as an Islamic leader by calling for protests against an anti-Islam film. The man who serves as Iran's military and ideological proxy in Lebanon, and who has been supporting the massacre of thousands of innocent Muslim civilians in Syria, has found a familiar calling: defending Islam against the self expression of an idiot.
The events of the past week were not surprising. Every time an unimaginative idiot in some country "insults Islam", we see hordes of angry and insecure young men deciding to fill their seemingly meaningless existence with violent protests. While their actions are arguably not representative, the vengeful sentiment is alarmingly prevalent and speaks of extreme backwardness and narrow mindedness that is probably the reason the so called "Arab Spring" in some countries hasn't given birth to hope and will never do.
When people seeking political gain and with venom in their hearts and minds decide to play with the fire of ignorance, instead of urging enlightenment, the orcs of hell are unleashed. What's ironic about all this is that those protestors inadvertently proved the author of the video right by choosing violence. Had they digested that Islam preached peace (and there are examples), their reactions would have been different. People in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Lebanon and elsewhere instead acted upon the familiar method of former despots and fanatics, who believe in violence and oppression.
The violence of last week proves that the region has a long way to go before any truly "democratic" and peaceful mentality takes root, or whatever formula works for the region that could bring about the long-desired peace and prosperity. The "Arab Spring" now looks more like an overdue knee jerk reaction. What is the point of asking for change without a fundamental understanding of basic human values? How can you expect the "West" to support your cause when you kill the very western men who championed your cause for freedom from a despot?
These are confusing times for many in the Middle East. With the people jumping on the bandwagon of protests with no one illuminating their way forward, the Islamists have been winning the day by default. They have a vision, and others don't, mostly because average kids in many of those countries have not been brought up to believe in the power of the individual and in critical thinking. Instead, they are told to worship religious icons unconditionally. And if they do grow up believing in some liberating values, they look to apply them outside the confines of their geographic and societal borders. Meanwhile, at home, any success they achieve is never recognized or worshipped for values it applied, but for pride it allegedly brought an abandoned home. When you have societies trained to view anything practiced in western societies with suspicion and through the prism of illogical conspiracy theories, it's a lot easier for the types of Nasrallah and his Sunni counterparts to recruit followers and advance their agendas, which were doubtfully inspired by the love or the defense of a prophet.
