The anti-Islamic propaganda film Innocence of Muslims exacerbated the stereotypes and animosities between Americans and Muslims worldwide. The anti-American protests that have swept across the world have proven that for better or worse, one film can make a difference.

In the middle of the night a few years ago, Imam Mohamed Magid got a peculiar phone call from a young man who attended his Northern Virginia mosque. The man, who was in the car with a woman, wanted to know if the imam could perform a marriage “right now” in a parking lot so the man could wouldn’t feel bad if he had sex.