The times of Israel newspaper
Anti-Islam movie sparks riots in Egypt; angry mob kills American in Libya
A movie attacking Islam’s prophet Muhammad
sparked assaults on US diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt on
Tuesday. A Libyan security official reported an American was shot to
death as protesters burned the US Consulate in Benghazi, and in Cairo,
protesters scaled the walls of the US Embassy walls and replaced an
American flag with an Islamic banner.
These were the first such assaults on US
diplomatic facilities in either country, at a time when both Libya and
Egypt are struggling to overcome the turmoil following the ouster of
their longtime leaders, Moammar Gadhafi and Hosni Mubarak in uprisings
last year.
The protests in both countries were sparked by
outrage over a video being promoted by an extreme anti-Muslim Egyptian
Christian campaigner in the United States.
Sam Bacile, the writer, director and producer
of the movie that he says showcases his view of Islam as a hateful
religion, was funded by $5 million from about 100 Jewish donors who he
declined to identify, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
In the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, a
large mob stormed the US Consulate, with gunmen firing their weapons,
said Wanis al-Sharef, an Interior Ministry official in Bengazi. A
witness said attackers fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled
grenades at the consulate as they clashed with Libyans hired to guard
the facility.
Outnumbered by the crowd, Libyan security forces did little to stop them, al-Sharef said.
The crowd overwhelmed the facility and set fire to it, burning most of it and looting the contents, witnesses said.
One American was shot to death and a second
was wounded in the hand, al-Sharef said. He did not give further
details, and there was no immediate US confirmation of the death.
Hours before the Benghazi attack, hundreds of
mainly ultraconservative Islamist protesters in Egypt marched to the US
Embassy in downtown Cairo, gathering outside its walls and chanting
against the movie and the US. Most of the embassy staff had left the
compound earlier because of warnings of the upcoming demonstration.
“Say it, don’t fear: Their ambassador must leave,” the crowd chanted.
Dozens of protesters then scaled the embassy
walls, and several went into the courtyard and took down the American
flag from a pole. They brought it back to the crowd outside, which tried
to burn it, but failing that, tore it apart.
The protesters on the wall then raised on the
flagpole a black flag with a Muslim declaration of faith, “There is no
god but God and Muhammad is his prophet.” The flag, similar to the
banner used by al-Qaida, is commonly used by ultraconservatives around
the region.
The crowd grew throughout the evening with
thousands standing outside the embassy. Dozens of riot police lined up
along the embassy walls but did not stop protesters as they continued to
climb and stand on the wall — though it appeared no more went into the
compound.
The crowd chanted, “Islamic, Islamic. The
right of our prophet will not die.” Some shouted, “We are all Osama,”
referring to al-Qaida’s late leader, bin Laden. Young men, some in
masks, sprayed graffiti on the walls. Some grumbled that Islamist
President Mohammed Morsi had not spoken out about the movie.
A group of women in black veils and robes that
left only their eyes exposed chanted, “Worshippers of the Cross, leave
the Prophet Muhammad alone.”
By midnight, the crowd had dwindled. The US
Embassy said on its Twitter account that there will be no visa services
on Wednesday because of the protests.
A senior Egyptian security official at the
embassy area said authorities allowed the protest because it was
“peaceful.” When they started climbing the walls, he said he called for
more troops, denying that the protesters stormed the embassy. He spoke
on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to
reporters.
The Cairo embassy is in a diplomatic area in
Garden City, where the British and Italian embassies are located, only a
few blocks away from Tahrir Square, the center of last year’s uprising
that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. The US Embassy is built like a
fortress, with a wall several meters high. But security has been scaled
back in recent months, with several roadblocks leading to the facility
removed after legal court cases by residents.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry promised in a
statement to provide the necessary security for diplomatic missions and
embassies and warned that “such incidents will negatively impact the
image of stability in Egypt, which will have consequences on the life of
its citizens.”
One protester, Hossam Ahmed, said he was among
those who entered the embassy compound and replaced the American flag
with the black one. He said the group has now removed the black flag
from the pole and laid it instead on a ladder on top of the wall.
“This is a very simple reaction to harming our prophet,” said another, bearded young protester, Abdel-Hamid Ibrahim.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman
Victoria Nuland said Egyptian police had removed the demonstrators who
entered the embassy grounds. Speaking before reports of the slain
American emerged, she condemned the attack on the consulate in Libya “in
the strongest terms.”
Muslims find it offensive to depict Muhammad
in any fashion, much less in an insulting way. The 2005 publication of
12 caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper triggered
riots in many Muslim countries.
A 14-minute trailer of the movie that sparked the protests, posted on the website YouTube in an original English version
and another dubbed into Egyptian Arabic, depicts Muhammad as a fraud, a
womanizer and a madman in an overtly ridiculing way, showing him having
sex and calling for massacres.
A YouTube spokesman said the website would not
take down the video at this point. The spokesman said the website’s
policy is to remove videos that include a threat of violence, but not
those only expressing opinions.
“We take great care when we enforce our
policies and try to allow as much content as possible while ensuring
that our Community Guidelines are followed,” the YouTube representative
said. “Flagged content that does not violate our Guidelines will remain
on the site.”
Bacile, an American citizen who said he
produced, directed and wrote the two-hour film, said he had not
anticipated such a furious reaction.
“I feel sorry for the embassy. I am mad,” Bacile said.
Speaking from a telephone with a California
number, Bacile said he is Jewish and familiar with the region. Bacile
said the film was produced in English and he doesn’t know who dubbed it
in Arabic. The full film has not been shown yet, he said, and he said he
has declined distribution offers for now.
“My plan is to make a series of 200 hours” about the same subject, he said.
Morris Sadek, an Egyptian-born Christian in
the US known for his anti-Islam views, told The Associated Press from
Washington that he was promoting the video on his website and on certain
TV stations, which he did not identify.
Both depicted the film as showing how Coptic
Christians are oppressed in Egypt, though it goes well beyond that to
ridicule Muhammad — a reflection of their contention that Islam as a
religion is inherently oppressive.
“The main problem is I am the first one to put
on the screen someone who is (portraying) Muhammad. It makes them mad,”
Bacile said. “But we have to open the door. After 9/11 everybody should
be in front of the judge, even Jesus, even Muhammad.”
For several days, Egyptian media have been
reporting on the video, playing some excerpts from it and blaming Sadek
for it, with ultraconservative clerics going on air to denounce it.
Medhat Klada, a representative of Coptic
Christian organizations in Europe, said Sadek’s views are not
representative of expatriate Copts.
“He is an extremist… We don’t go down this
road. He has incited the people (in Egypt) against Copts,” he said,
speaking from Switzerland. “We refuse any attacks on religions because
of a moral position.”
But he said he was concerned about the
backlash from angry Islamists, saying their protest only promotes the
movie. “They don’t know dialogue and they think that Islam will be
offended from a movie.”
(America killed its own Ambassador in order to further erode relations and send more troops into the middle east and take away civil rights at home in the name of security. Divide and conquer is the motto.)
abc news
FBI Warns of Violence in America Over Anti-Islamic Movie
A U.S. intelligence bulletin warned today that the violent outrage aimed at U.S. embassies spawned by a movie mocking the Prophet Mohammed could be spread to America by extremist groups eager to "exploit anger."The Joint Intelligence Bulletin issued by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said "the risk of violence could increase both at home and abroad as the film continues to gain attention."
"First responders should remain aware of the potential for spontaneous large crowds and protests that could overwhelm resources and should be vigilant for possible efforts to encourage peaceful protesters to commit acts of violence," the warning said.
It urged "faith-based organizations to promptly report suspicious activities that could indicate pre-operational plotting against Jewish, Coptic, Islamic, or any other faith-based communities."
It added, however, that there was no information regarding any specific threats.
The bulletin warned that "violent extremist groups in the United States could exploit anger over the film to advance their recruitment efforts."
It goes on to note that angry protests in Benghazi, where four Americans were killed, and Cairo "mirror past incidents prompted by events perceived as anti-Islamic, which spurred sudden violence against U.S. interests overseas."
The bulletin was issued as fresh violence erupted at U.S. embassies in Yemen and Egypt, and the State Department said that 50 overseas missions have been given additional security and warned U.S. citizens in their area to be "extra vigilant." Some embassies warned of protests on Friday, the Muslim sabbath.
Anti-Islam Film Producer Guilty on Drug, Fraud Charges Watch Video
American Embassies Under Siege Across Middle East Watch Video
U.S. Ambassador Killed in Libya: New Details Watch Video
President Obama called the presidents of Egypt and Libya where he thanked them for their help but reminded them of the importance of protecting American embassies and consulates. And in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai canceled an overseas trip because of brewing anger over the film, "Innocence of Muslims," which ridicules Islam's founder the Prophet Mohammed.
Two U.S. Navy missile destroyers, the USS Laboon and USS McFaul, were moved near the coast of Libya as an extra precaution.
Libyan officials said several people have been arrested for the attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Information Management Officer Sean Smith, security personnel and former Navy SEALs Tyrone S. Woods and Glen A. Doherty but U.S. officials have not confirmed that.
Wanis el-Sharef, eastern Libya's deputy interior minister, told the Associated Press the attacks were suspected to have been timed to mark the 9/11 anniversary and that the militants used civilians protesting the movie as cover for their action.
Western intelligence sources told ABC News that it appears the movie was the "catalyst," but it would not be surprising if a militant group "would seek to take advantage for an opportunity to strike."
FBI agents from New York were being dispatched to Libya to assist in the investigation.
The worst violence today erupted in Sana'a, Yemen, where thousands of angry protesters circled the U.S. embassy and breached its outer wall, but were prevented from entering the embassy compound.
"Smoke is rising, they just flooded the security barriers. [There are] no casualties. [There is] shooting. It's crazy," a senior Yemeni official told ABC News.
Yemeni forces threw tear gas as protesters were seen scrambling over fences and the main gate, firing gunshots as they tried to stop the demonstrators.
Protesters in Sana'a removed the embassy's sign on the outer wall and set tires ablaze, The Associated Press reported. Once inside the compound, they took down and burned the U.S. flag. Security guards at the embassy fired warning shots to stop them.
