A Textbook Islamist: The Man Who Ignited the Muhammad Movie Rage

Sheikh Khalid Abdullah, an Egyptian Salafist and TV personality, aired a show more than a week ago about a film called "The Innocence of Muslims," which reportedly slanders Islam's prophet Muhammad. The way the Islamists in Egypt and their fellow Islamists have chosen to magnify a 13-minute online video into a streaming wave of violence and anti-Israeli and anti-American hate shows the true side of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been claiming to be pro-democracy and anti-violence, and that the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamists in general have not changed because of the Arab Spring. All of this should serve as a rude wake-up call to the US administration, which has been tolerating -- even accepting -- Islamists' spurious adoption of democracy.

For a start, it is worthwhile learning more about the man behind the sweeping Muslim rage over the film. Sheikh Khalid Abdullah has a popular talk show on Al-Nas satellite TV, and -- according to the Telegraph -- "has long prided itself on baiting liberals, Christians and Jews." Although the video has been online since July with not much attention, a little over a week ago, Sheikh Khalid Abdullah, after airing clips from the online video, called for its maker to be executed. Additionally, YouTube and other websites are full of anti-Islamic videos -- possibly much fewer in number than anti-Semitic and anti-American online videos produced by Muslims -- and we yet have not seen Americans or Israelis attacking Muslim Embassies.

Sheikh Khalid Abdullah is a controversial figure: Last year, when a group of moderates, liberals and non-Islamist protesters protested against Egypt's military council's alleged control of the country's political life, a young woman wearing a hijab was beaten then undressed down to her undergarments by the Egyptian anti-riot police. This incident was caught on camera and the entire Egyptian nation saw it; nonetheless, the Salafist media, headed by Sheikh Abdullah, stood in defense of the Military Council. Sheikh Abdullah even went as far as to mock Egyptian Noble Prize winner Mohammad Al-Baradei for defending the assaulted women. Sheikh Abdullah said: "Al-Baradei told the Military Council: don't you feel ashamed for stripping young women of their clothes" Abdullah then laughably commented "Oh You (Al-Baradei) …you faithful boy".

In another episode of his show, Sheikh Abdullah goes even further in slandering the assaulted woman. He said, "A veiled woman, what was she doing in that place at such a time amid the chaos; so she can end up being caught by someone to take off her Niqab and then beat her up and then the devious satellite TVs come out saying the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salfists only care for being in the Parliament and they could not care less for the lives of people...I've told you a thousand times, don't be too smart with the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists trying to lure them into a game they know very well". (continue reading...)