Egypt's
Coptic Orthodox church also condemned in a statement some Copts living abroad
who it said financed "the production of a film insulting Prophet
Mohammad." About a 10th of Egypt's 83 million people are Christians.
Interestingly,
one slogan scrawled on the walls of the US embassy, which is near Tahrir Square
where Egyptians revolted against Mubarak, said: "If your freedom of speech
has no limits, may you accept our freedom of action."
President Mursi condemns
the film
Egyptian
president Mohammed Mursi condemned the violence but called on Washington to
take action against the film's makers.
"What happened at the US embassy in Cairo is regrettable and rejected by all Egyptian people and cannot be justified, especially if we consider that the people who produced this low film have no relation to the (US) government," prime minister Hisham Kandil said, reading out a statement.
"We ask the American government to take a firm position toward this film's producers within the framework of international charters that criminalise acts that stir strife on the basis of race, colour or religion." president Mursi, who became Egypt's first elected leader this year after last year's overthrow of US client Hosni Mubarak.
Hamid Karzai: Several leaders, including Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai denounced the film in statements that made no mention of attacks on US diplomats, the Reuters reported. "Desecration is not part of the freedom of expression, but a criminal act that has now badly affected the righteous sentiments of 1.5 billion Muslims all over the globe," a statement from Mr Karzai's office said.
The Vatican: The Vatican in Rome said the
violence showed the need to respect religions and avoid insulting believers.
"The serious consequences of unjustified offence and provocations against
the sensibilities of Muslim believers are once again evident in these
days," the Vatican's chief spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi said in a
statement. Fr Lombardi said respect for the beliefs, texts, outstanding figures
and symbols of religions was "an essential precondition for the peaceful
coexistence of peoples."
Israeli filmmaker in
hiding after deadly protests
The film that inspired the violence depicts the Prophet Mohammed as a child molester, womanizer and ruthless killer, going a big step beyond violating the basic Muslim prohibition against depicting the Prophet, even in a favorable light.
The movie
was made by Sam Bacile, an Israeli-American real-estate developer who says he
wanted to showcase his view of Islam as a hateful religion, according to the
Wall Street Journal.
The film
was promoted by Terry Jones, a once little-known Florida pastor who gained
international notoriety for burning the Quran despite a plea by then US defense
secretary Robert Gates that the act would put the lives of US troops in danger.
According
to the Associated Press, Sam Bacile the California --based Israeli filmmaker
went into hiding Tuesday after his movie attacking Islam's Prophet Muhammad
sparked angry assaults by on U.S. missions in Egypt and Libya.
Speaking to
AP by phone from an undisclosed location, writer and director Sam Bacile
remained defiant, saying Islam is a cancer and that the 56-year-old intended
his film to be a provocative political statement condemning the religion. -
"This is a political movie," said Bacile. "The U.S. lost a lot
of money and a lot of people in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we're
fighting with ideas."
The AP
report said that Bacile, a California real estate developer who identifies
himself as an Israeli Jew, says he believes the movie will help his native land
by exposing Islam's flaws to the world. "Islam is a cancer, period,"
he said repeatedly, his solemn voice thickly accented.
The two-hour
movie, "Innocence of Muslims," cost $5 million to make and was
financed with the help of more than 100 Jewish donors, said Bacile, who wrote
and directed it.
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