Not in the News- Libyans hold Pro-United States protest in Benghazi today to honor Chris Stevens

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Posted by Claire Williams September 12, 2012 at 6:57 p.m.

Not in the News- Libyans hold Pro-United States protest in Benghazi today to honor Chris Stevens

I haven't seen this reported in the mainstream media yet, so I wanted to share this positive story with all of you.

Today, hundreds Libyans of all ages came together near the site of the burned-out US consulate in Benghazi to honor Chris Stevens and the others killed in yesterday's attack, chanting and holding signs with red and blue lettering, reading slogans like:

"Sorry America, this is not the Pehavior [sic] of our Islam and Profit [sic]"

"Benghazi is against terrorism"

"RIP Christopher Stevens"

"Thugs and Killers don't represent Benghazi nor Islam"

"Chris Stevens was a friend to all Libyans"

Many others held signs written in Arabic. Posters at the popular news aggregator site Reddit have translated them as follows (probably not a complete list):

"No, no, no to Al Qaida"

"No to Al Qaida, no to terrorism; this is a young people's revolution"

"Arrest the killers [lit. armed men] today"

"No place for Al-Qaida here"

"The flavor of terrorism is not for Libya"

"Enough retaliation, we want [cut off, probably "peaceful"] reactions"

"Islam is innocent, the traitors are spoiling our [cut off]"

"Do you reward for good [deeds] with anything other than good [deeds]?"

"Whoever has no conscience, remember that Allah is patient with you but does not forgive the sins of unrepentant wrongdoers."

I'd like to point out that the actions these people took by protesting the terrorism is not the same as a picketing line in Chicago-- these folks put themselves in real danger by speaking out against violent factions that would be just as happy to kill THEM as us. As we move forward from this tragedy, I think many of us can agree that actions like the Libyans took today are beneficial to the healing process. My favorite sign is perhaps this one:

Following the spirit of my blog post about prejudice yesterday, I think "This does not represent us" is a sentiment we can all agree with.

Thank you to the Libyans who took part in this demonstration today, condemning the actions of killers and showing compassion for those who were slain.

You can view the entire album of photos HERE, or visit the news channel Libya Alhurra's facebook page for additional photos.

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Glenn Reed 8 months, 1 week ago

These are brave people. They're doing good things. I hope they'll be okay.

It's good to remember that there are people that just want peace. These are things that we, as a nation, should find ways to promote.

cait48 8 months, 1 week ago

I thought you might like to see this.

From Samuel Shropshire:
"I was given special permission as an American to visit the Islamic Holy City of Medina. Today I'm greeted as an American by many nationalities thanking me as an American for coming to see Medina. All denounce the attack on the Americans in Libya and Egypt. They concur: When you mix extremist Christians, extremist Jews and extremist Muslims the result is explosive hate which breeds murder and war. May God give us the wisdom, grace and forgiveness to overcome evil with good. Sam — in Medina, Al Madinah."

Liberty275 8 months, 1 week ago

I hadn't seen this but it isn't surprising. Not everyone in the mideast supports terrorism. The Muslims I know are kind and humble people. That said, I'd rather see those people throw away their signs and go home. They have to live there and it would be a shame to see any of them killed or injured for for their protests against the bastardization of their religion and the senseless killing.

If there is a god, I'm sure he has a place by his side for them.

Thanks, but go home to your families. America will handle this problem; there is no need for any of you good people to risk your lives on our behalf.