LOS ANGELES (AP) — The anti-Islamic movie trailer inflaming the Middle East opens with Muslims ransacking a Christian medical clinic and then segues into a flashback of Muhammad's life.
The opening is crude but experts say it resonates with some Egyptian Christians who have suffered years of persecution by Islamic militants.
Most Egyptian Christians in the U.S. have rejected the movie and say it's been produced by fringe players who are not well-known in the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Eliot Dickinson, an associate professor of political science at Western Oregon University, says the few who do engage in anti-Muslim, evangelical activism are fueled by history.
Dickinson says whoever made the film is on the fringe of the community, but it taps into the frustration of always being persecuted back in Egypt.
He says that to be a Copt in Egypt now is a very difficult life, especially after the Arab Spring.
