Beirut - For the embattled Syrian regime, the crudely-produced film
mocking Islam that has unleashed fury across the Muslim world could not
have come at a better time.
Images of furious protesters targeting
Western diplomatic sites in Libya, Egypt, Pakistan and elsewhere have
diverted the world's gaze from the bloodstained streets of Syria, where
President Bashar Assad is trying to crush an 18-month-old uprising.
The
crisis over the film also has reinvigorated militant rhetoric that US
and Israel are the real enemies of Muslims, taking the heat off of both
Assad and his loyal and powerful ally in neighboring Lebanon, the
militant group Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, Syria's Cabinet condemned the movie, titled Innocence of Muslims.
In its first official reaction, the Cabinet said the film about the
Prophet Muhammad is "cheap and provocative", adding that it's "part of a
Western project that aims to infringe upon the nation's heritage and
symbols... as a prelude to control its potentials and wealth".
It
remains to be seen whether the controversy will result in any lasting
gains for Syria or for Hezbollah, whose reputation has suffered severely
for siding with the Assad regime even after supporting revolts in
Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain.
The demonstrations over the
film, while fervent, were relatively small to begin with, and they
appear to be tapering off in the Arab world.
Still, Hezbollah is determined to keep them going, which serves the interests of the Shii'te militant group as well as Assad.
Assad's
fall would be a nightmare scenario for Hezbollah. Any new regime led by
Syria's majority Sunni Muslims would likely be far less friendly - or
even outright hostile - to Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah.
Iran
remains the group's most important patron, but Syria is a crucial supply
route. Without it, Hezbollah will struggle to get money and weapons as
easily.
The Syrian conflict has descended into a civil war, with
neither side able to strike a definitive blow against the other. The
result is a murderous stalemate, with a growing sense of worldwide
horror over violence that activists believe is responsible for killing
23 000 people.
The prophet film, however, has exposed a well of
deep anger and frustration directed far beyond Syria's borders - and
Syria and its allies are seizing on it.
Popular rage
In
his first public appearance since 2011, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah told
tens of thousands of rapturous supporters on Monday that there must be
sustained demonstrations against the film.
There are four more
rallies planned this week in Lebanon, starting Wednesday, as Hezbollah
tries to redirect popular rage against the US, describing the film -
which is amateurish and intentionally provocative - as an unprecedented
attack on Islam.
"The world should know that our anger is not a
passing thing... This is the start of a serious campaign that must
continue all over the Muslim world in defence of the prophet of God,"
said Nasrallah, who rarely appears in public for fear of assassination.
"As long as there's blood in us", he added, "we will not remain silent over insults against our prophet".
Nasrallah
has said he considers the film the worst insult to Islam mainly because
it is available online and anyone can access it.
"I think that
this level of offense is very big, very grave and unprecedented," he
said in a televised speech recently. He said the film is more of an
insult than the 2005 publication by a Danish newspaper of cartoons
depicting the prophet, which unleashed a wave of violent protests by
Muslims; and British author Salman Rushdie's 1988 novel, The Satanic Verses, inspired in part by the life of Muhammad.
Iran's
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a religious edict in 1989 calling
for Rushdie's death, leading the writer to live in hiding for a decade.
Hezbollah
is harnessing the outrage over the film, an apparent attempt to keep
the issue alive and to bolster its standing a defender of Muslim dignity
and a moral force in the Arab world. Many in the crowd Monday wore
headbands of green and yellow - the colours of Hezbollah; others hoisted
Syrian flags to show their allegiance to Assad, a sign of the strong
links between Syria and Hezbollah.
But the group also appeared to
be trying to ensure the gatherings don't descend into violence, planning
them only in areas where Hezbollah has control. None of the rallies
targets the heavily fortified US Embassy in the hills outside Beirut.
The
movie portrays the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud, a womaniser and a child
molester. Protesters have directed their anger at the US government,
insisting it should do something to stop it, although the film was
privately produced. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton criticised
it as "an awful internet video that we had nothing to do with".
For
the moment, the masses who have risen up against Assad appear to be
drowned out by those chanting against more familiar enemies - the United
States and Israel.
"Death to America!" the crowds shouted Monday in Beirut. "America is the great Satan!"
- AP