The trailer for the film "Innocence of Muslims" recently led to
riots over its depiction of the prophet Muhammad as a womanizer,
child molester and criminal. Several Americans, including U.S.
Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, were killed in protests that
have been linked to the film. Despite the outrage it's not clear
that the film actually exists; certainly a trailer for it does,
but a trailer isn't a film. Investigation into the anti-Muslim
"film" is ongoing, but as yet there seems to be no evidence that
the film exists other than as a deadly hoax. People create
hoaxes for many reasons, but when fraud mixes with religious
fervor the results can range from the comical to the deadly.
Here's a look at seven religious hoaxes throughout history. 1.
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion Perhaps the most infamous
and malicious religious hoax in history, "The Protocols of the
Learned Elders of Zion" is a book supposedly revealing a secret
Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. It first appeared in
Russia in 1905,