On September 11, 2012, the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked by a group of angry Libyans. Ambassador Chris Stevens and four other Americans were killed. These Libyans and the riots that ensued across Africa and the Middle East afterwards, were said to be driven by their hatred of the film produced by Americans. This film soiled the image of the great Islamic prophet Muhammad.

BBC states that the film, labeled under many titles such as Innocence of Muslims and Desert Warrior, “appears to depict Islam as a religion of violence and hate, and shows its Prophet Muhammad as a foolish and power-hungry man.” It does this by depicting Muhammad during intimate time with his wife, insinuating that his wife was the true creator of the Koran, and implying that Muhammad was homosexual.

As the weeks have progressed, however, many have begun to speculate about what the real motive was.  Those at BBC wonder if it could have been a premeditated attack rather than a spontaneous outbreak as many seem to think, but nobody knows for certain as of now. An anonymous junior felt that the attacks were “scary” and “unexpected,” emotions many Americans at the time shared as well.

Junior Alex Oh believed that “the people who made the video and people who sponsored [it are responsible].”  He also states that “People say that they have a right to say what they want to, but that’s not true.”  He says that speaking out is only appropriate “as long as it’s not a false advertisement or attacking someone or some groups.”

History teacher Mr. Jeral Scofield made a few comments a couple weeks after the event occurred.  He stated that the blame could either be place on “a popular demonstration… turned violent or [a] military organization linked to al-Qaeda.”   He also said that “some militant groups want to take the country down the path of theocracy,” and says that it is a “political blame game” over whether or not we could have “done more… to protect the consulate.”  Lastly, Scofield wanted to emphasize that “our embassy was not stormed” but rather “our consulate.”

This distinction between the two is important because of the political implications each diplomatic mission has. According to Yahoo!, “a consulate is like a junior embassy.” Embassies, on the other hand, “are much bigger deals” because while consulates deal with “minor diplomatic tasks such as issuing visas,” embassies are considered to be actual territory of the country they belong to which holds a much higher political significance.

Essentially, though many do not completely understand the situation now, the government is still looking into improving foreign ties and preventing this from happening again at different locations.