Sir, – While acknowledging that religious fanatics may always exist, Vincent Durac (Opinion, September 22nd) is right to contextualise the often violent protests directed against US embassies over the silly but hate-inciting film Innocence of Muslims.
The reaction to the film may have been very different had not Muslim countries being bombed, invaded and occupied, their citizens tortured and their natural wealth exploited over the past 11 years in a war that former US president Bush coined a “crusade”.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have been killed. The latest atrocity, committed by Nato in Afghanistan, killed eight women and injured seven including a 10-year old girl (World News, September 17th).
It is crimes like these that are the real cause of anger in the Muslim world.
The US government and its apologists should truthfully confront the justified anger of Muslims. The memory of US ambassador Chris Stevens, of the eight dead women in Afghanistan and of all the victims of a flawed US foreign policy deserves no less. – Yours, etc,