Islamic radicals stormed the U.S. Consulate in Libya and killed 4 people including Ambassador Stevens supposedly because of an anti-Muslim video on YouTube. But something just isn’t right about this video.
There’s still so much about the film, the producer and the rest who were involved that we just don’t know. The producer and director goes by the name Sam Bacile, but that’s not his real name. He won’t divulge his true identity. He claimed to be an Israeli-born Jewish filmmaker and California real estate agent, but Christian activist and film-promoter Steve Klein stated that he was neither Jewish nor Israeli. Israeli officials have no record of him and neither do California real estate agencies.
He apparently had a $5 million budget. So, why didn’t he put that money toward production of the film? Sure, he had to pay actors and actresses (one of the actresses got $500) and a crew, but what about equipment and post-production? I ask because it doesn’t look like very much time, effort or money was spent on those things at all.
In fact, I dare you to get through all 14 minutes of the film’s “trailer.” It’s got to be the worst “anti-Muslim” film ever. It is so bad, and the voice overdubs are so poor, it’s as if whoever put this together was trying desperately to make Christians look bad, not Muslims. Yes, the film involves a lot of statements about Muhammad being a “gay” bastard and portrays him as a bloodthirsty killer, polygamist and an overall buffoon. But all the Islamic and Muhammad references were overdubbed in “post-production,” and they sound like they could have been done by some 8th grader on Garage Band.
The film’s “trailer” begins in presumably present-day Egypt. But then, a few minutes in, it “non-sequitors” into the ancient Middle East somewhere where an obvious green screen is used to supply a desert, a tent and a few camels in the background. The audio sounded like it was done in a bathroom, and the voice overdubs were even worse. Who in their right mind would give $5 million to someone who obviously had no idea what he was doing and who refused to use decent engineers? Bacile claimed that he raised the money from “100 Jewish donors.”
The end result is that it mocks Christians’ opinion of Islam to the point of absurdity. Now, since this film has all of a sudden gotten publicity even though it was posted to YouTube back in July, the media will point to it as an example of what Christians believe, and that these “extremist” and “anti-Muslim” sentiments are to blame for the violence and murder overseas.
Another mysterious figure is Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, who admitted to being the manager of the film’s production company. He too has aliases. Fox News reports:
Nakoula denied he directed the film and said he knew the self-described filmmaker, Sam Bacile. But the cell phone number that AP contacted Tuesday to reach the filmmaker who identified himself as Sam Bacile traced to the same address near Los Angeles where AP found Nakoula. Federal court papers said Nakoula’s aliases included Nicola Bacily, Erwin Salameh and others.
His aliases sound vaguely like “Sam Bacile” (“Salameh” – Sam; “Bacily” – Bacile). Do all these aliases refer to the same person? They might, but Nakoula denies posing as Bacile.
Nakoula also served 21 months in a federal prison and had to pay over $790,000 in restitution after pleading no contest in 2010 for federal bank fraud. Fox News continued:
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Leigh Williams said Nakoula set up fraudulent bank accounts using stolen identities and Social Security numbers, then checks from those accounts would be deposited into other bogus accounts from which Nakoula would withdraw money at ATM machines.
He claims to be a Coptic Christian.
When you look at the background of this bizarre film, you’ll find out that it was originally called “Desert Warriors,” and it was going to be about what life was like in Egypt 2,000 years ago. Actors were hired to portray Egyptians, and the main character was named “George.” The other characters referred to him as “Master George.” But their dialogue was edited later to make is sound like it was about Muhammad. The actors involved are now denouncing the film because they say they had no idea that it was going to turn into an “anti-Muslim” video. One of the actresses said that initially, when she received a copy of the script, it had nothing to do with religion at all. The film apparently played once or twice at some run down LA theater last year, and it was dubbed a “historical Arabian desert adventure film.” A “Sam Bassiel” was listed as the producer.
This Bacile figure is now in hiding because he fears for his life from Muslim radicals. We still don’t know who he is, who Nakoula is, and why such an over-the-top poor job was done in producing the film, and why it was used as an excuse for Muslim violence in Libya and elsewhere.
I’m definitely anti-Muslim, or more appropriately pro-Christian. I’m all for exposing Islam as the violent, hateful, and bloodthirsty religion that it is. There are plenty of videos, films and documentaries on the subject of Islam and Muhammad that are actually well done that don’t get any attention at all by the media or the violent Muslims overseas. Yet they all chose simultaneously to react to this ludicrous excuse for an “educational film” that attempted to “reveal truths about Muhammad that are possibly not widely known,” as Florida pastor Terry Jones said. I’m not buying it. There has to be more to this than what the media have told us.
