Since the emergence of a controversial movie ridiculing the Islamic prophet Mohammad sparked uproar in the Middle East, resulting in the death of the American ambassador after the storming of the US consulate in Benghazi, protests have erupted across the Muslim world.

Similar angry scenes have taken place in China, and to a lesser extent, Taiwan, over the Senkaku Islands claimed by Japan.

Meanwhile, in the US, Europe and elsewhere, a more drawn-out movement refuses to go away quietly…

Tracking Rage in the Muslim World

If you’re struggling to keep track of all the uprisings lately, you’re not the only one. What with protests spreading like wildfire from Libya, Egypt and Tunisia to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan (and most of the countries in between), you’d be forgiven for thinking that World War III was just about to kick off.

With reports of new protests continuing to surface each day, this handy interactive map compiled by John Hudson of Atlantic Wire is a great way to keep abreast of all the latest goings on, especially for anyone who might be traveling in affected parts of the world right now.

Having studied the map in detail, what’s interesting is the way that the protests seem to be less violent the further away from the ‘epicenter’ of Libya/Egypt you get. The most extreme violence was seen in Benghazi of course, while Jerusalem saw protestors throwing stones at police, the German embassy in Sudan was attacked and set on fire.  But further afield, in Lahore, Pakistan; Jakarta, Indonesia; and in Europe, the protests have been largely peaceful affairs – it’s almost as if, the further you get from Libya, the more people’s  anger seems to dissipate.

The Occupy Movement – One Year On

While the Muslim world is aflame at the moment, the Occupy Movement against social and economic inequality continues to keep up the pressure on symbols of prosperity in Wall Street, Madrid, London and other key economic centers around the world.

Having been around for a year now, it gets harder for movements such as Occupy to stay in the headlines – indeed, many people probably don’t even realize just broad a movement it’s become.

The interactive map at directory.occupy.net can help change that. The movement has collated data from a similar map started by the British newspaper The Guardian, and added that to data from other sources to come up with comprehensive look at just how big Occupy has grown over the last year.

And boy has it grown – spreading across every single continent in the world, including far flung destinations such as Waigani in Papua New Guinea, Punta Arenas in Argentina and Kigali in Rwanda to name just a few of the more obscure focal points.

Anyone interested in doing their bit can just search for a protest nearest to them, click on it, and the map will display information including ‘meet up’ dates, social media channels, official websites and addresses.

The World at Protest

Finally, if you’re interested in tracking the history of protests across the world, as well as new ones as and when they happen (like the ones in China at the moment), you’ll love this funky new tool from worldatprotest.com.

Although it’s somewhat confusing at first, it looks like the perfect tool for keeping on top of things in something close to real time, whilst also serving as a historical record of past events. Simply use the scrolling icons at the bottom of the page, choose a time period, and the map will automatically highlight all the flashpoints that occurred at that moment – click on a country and then check the links to find out exactly what the story was.