Erstellt am: 12. 9. 2012 - 14:58 Uhr

The battle for the Islamic conservatives

Reality Check: Anti US protests in Libya and Egypt, Somalia's new president, generic drugs, Israel and the bomb, Testicular cancer awareness campaign

An American spoof film on the life of Mohammed has given rise to violent anti US protests in Egypt and in Libya. The American ambassador to Libya died following an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi.

Even taking into account Islamic sensibilities (remember the notorious Mohammed cartoons?), it's hard to see why this film is causing such a rumpus. It's clearly intended to be funny, and possibly the fact that it is so badly made is part of the comedy. Indeed, it is outrageous, but in a sort of Monty Python-meets-Bevis and Butthead-meets-Sacha Baron-Cohen sort of way that's hard to take seriously. As far as our research has revealed, it has been publically shown once, and that was many months ago, to a nearly empty cinema, somewhere in Los Angeles. Now clips from it are emerging on YouTube.

There are two schools of thought. Either this film was made with the intention of being irreverent and funny, and it just didn't take off, or it was made with the intention of stirring up trouble, and it is succeeding wildly. Either way, it has handed the perfect weapon to the radical conservative Islamists, the Salafists, who are using it to whip up a political storm.

The anti-USA attacks in Libya and the protests in Egypt are both believed to be the work of the Salafists, who are keen to establish themselves as the true political guardians of Islam. This is particularly pertinent in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood is the largest political body, and considers itself to be the definitive Islamic party. The Salafists are now using the film, and their violent reaction to it, to demonstrate how dedicated they are to the Islamic cause.

Maybe ironically, this is possible now, under a democratic government, in the way it never was under President Mubarak. Mubarak took every example of Islamic extremism as an example of why he should stay in power. Without him, the Salafists have an open stage for their extremist views.

Karim El-Gawhary gives his analysis of how the Salafists are manipulating a film, that would have otherwise have remained unheard of, to meet their own political ends.

Somalia's new president

Will a new president with a good level of popular support be able to help this failed state? Ahmed Soliman, a Research Assistant for the Horn of Africa region at Chatham House, gives his analysis of the country and its chances for recovery.

The generic drugs war

Pharmaceutical giant Novartis is trying to patent a new drug to prevent a generic form from being produced in India. The result will have wide reaching implications for the generic drug industry, especially in developing countries.

Israel and the bomb

Tensions between the US and Israel are rising once again as President Obama refuses to meet Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu in Washington DC. Obama's aides say his schedule is too busy to allow a meeting, but Netanyahu's criticism of Obama for not being tougher on Iran may have something to do with it. But while we hear plenty about Iran's alleged nuclear weapons ambitions, no one seems to bother much about Israel's "unofficial" nuclear weapons. Nuclear nonproliferation expert, Avner Cohen discusses Israel's nuclear programme and the implications for relations with Iran.

Get-up Lauf

Testicular cancer survivor, Bernhard Hölzl, talks about raising awareness of cancer, and the "Get Up Lauf" in Perchtoldsdorf, Nö, this weekend.

FM4 Reality Check

Monday to Friday from 12.00 to 14.00, and after the show via Podcast or fm4.orf.at/realitycheck.