CAIRO: Despite the growing fears among expatriate Egyptian Coptic Christians in the United States over the potential response by Muslims in Egypt toward the Christian minority, those in the country, especially the youth, are joining forces with their fellow Muslims in protests against an anti-Islam film. On Friday morning, in view of smoldering vehicles and tear gas billowing from the ground, three young Christians covered their face as the gas moved ever closer. “We will stand by our Muslim brothers in this troubled time. We are all Egyptians,” Farid, a 22-year-old university student and self-described Ultra, or an avid football fan among the many who have taken frontline positions in the current clashes in downtown Cairo, told Bikyamasr.com. While the minority among the throngs of Muslims in downtown Cairo, they have a strong sense of belonging. “As Christians, we should feel a responsibility to be here and help support Muslims who are being attacked because it appears to have been Christians and Egyptians who made the film. That is disgraceful,” he added. His two colleagues nodded in agreement. “If we are disagreeing about other things that's fine, but right now this violence by the security forces is unacceptable. It was a peaceful protest that was attacked that started this and now we are all needed,” he argued. The film at the center of the controversy had initially been claimed to have been made by an Israeli-American real estate developer, but after more investigations, it is now believed to have been made by extremist Coptic Christians living in the United States. Many of whom are barred from ever returning to Egypt as a result of their antagonism towards Islam. Initial reports following the protests in Egypt and Libya on Tuesday said that “Sam Bacile" was behind the film. He was cited as being an Israeli citizen working in California as a real estate developer. The AP reported that “Bacile" went into hiding in the United States on Wednesday after the violence erupted. In an interview with the news wire service, he continued his anti-Islam comments by calling the religion “a cancer." But the reality of who he is turns out to be much different that the picture he delivered to AP. In fact, he is not even Israeli, Max Blumenthal reported in The Guardian. Not even the Israeli government could track a man by that name. “After being duped by Bacile, AP traced his address to the home of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a militant Coptic separatist and felon convicted of check fraud," Blumenthal said in his article published on Thursday. “On September 13, US law enforcement officials confirmed that ‘Sam Bacile' was an alias Nakoula used to advance his various scams, which apparently included the production of The Innocence of Muslims." The film clip, now revealed to be produced and financed by exiled Coptic Christian extremists, highlights the ongoing battle for tolerance. One of the leading producers of the film, Morris Sadek, is known for his virulent attacks against Islam, including calling for the Israeli government to invade Egypt and save it from the “Muslim occupation" of Coptic Christian lands. At least now, after days of speculation, the truth of the film is coming to light and it shows the extremist nature of the Coptic Christian community abroad who want to inflame the Muslim majority in Egypt toward violence. But Christians in Egypt have shown their solidarity with their Muslim brothers and sisters, organizing a protest on Wednesday against the film, a sign that most Christians in Egypt do not support the extremism being spouted by those who helped bring forward this film. “This won't stop until the US government apologizes and charges these men with hate crimes, because that is what they are. We are Egyptians and we are all in this together,” added Farid as he waved in the next group of protesters heading to throw stones at the police, who return with volleys of tear gas and more rocks in what is becoming a cyclical violent affair.
