Who's afraid of Muslim Rage?
A US magazine cover (below) screams out the general media slant of the last two weeks: the Muslim world is burning with anti-western anger over an Islamophobic film, with hordes of violent protesters on the streets threatening us all ... but is it really? Citizens and new media are responding, and Gawker has brilliantly satirised the hype with alternative images of "Muslim Rage": Seven things you may have missed in the 'Rage': Like everyone else, many Muslims find the 13 minute Islamophobic video "Innocence of Muslims" trashy and offensive. Protests have spread quickly, tapping into understandable and lasting grievances about neo-colonialist US and western foreign policy in the Middle East, as well as religious sensitivities about depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. But the news coverage often obscures some important points: 1. Early estimates put participation in anti-film protests at between 0,001 and 0,007% of the world's 1.5 bi...