http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/libyan-native-ozarks-gives-her-views-death-ambassador-stevens_45364.mp3
Muslims around the world were upset after hearing of an amateur American film-maker depicting the Prophet Muhammad and referring to all of Islam as a cancer. Many protests were held throughout the Arab world, but none have drawn as much attention as the storming of the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. There, the US Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, was killed, along with three other Americans.
One native of Libya, who has been living in the Ozarks since 1989, spoke with KSMU’s Shane Franklin about her views on this tragic incident.
Hala Gheriani didn’t know about the death of Ambassador Stevens and the burning of the US Consulate in Libya until waking to a Facebook account, choked with messages of condolence and some of sheer anger from friends back in Libya. She still has family living in Benghazi, and so for her, this news hit close to home, or at least close to her old home.
“The Benghazi people are good people. However, there are extremists among us, and they need to face justice,” she said.
She says that many Libyans she spoke with are shocked and upset over losing Ambassador Stevens, a friend to the Libyan people. She says others are ashamed because they feel that the image they have fought for, and paid so dearly to obtain, has been tainted by a minority group of extremists.
Gheriani has lived on American soil longer than Libyan soil. She says she takes being an American citizen very seriously. Even though she is a Muslim, she doesn’t side with either party, the director and financial backers of the film or the Libyan extremists.
“I understand that there is freedom of speech in this country; however, it is also an offense to scream fire in a crowded theatre, and that is certainly what the movie did, and the director purposefully did that.”
She says the director had a motive when producing the film; he knew what the results would be.
“This is a free country, and we all are privileged to have an opinion. However, by him purposefully doing this and releasing it on YouTube at a time when Libya and a lot of other countries are on very shaky grounds, was at the best irresponsible and immature.”
Gheriani hasn’t seen the film herself. She says she doesn’t want to, there’s simply no point.
“It’s not worth mentioning the name of this movie. It’s not worth mentioning this movie, because it is just a tool to drive a wedge between Muslims, Muslims and Christians, and specifically in this case between Libya and the United States of America.”
After spending two years in Tripoli as the US Ambassador to Libya, Stevens returned to Benghazi as the US Envoy to the rebel forces fighting for their independence from Moammar Gadhafi.
Stevens died in Benghazi on the eleven year anniversary of 9/11.
For KSMU News, I’m Shane Franklin.