US consulate employee killed in Libya attack h/t Marie2
lBENGHAZI, Libya (AlJazeera) – An American staff member of the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi has died following fierce clashes at the compound, Libyan security sources said. An armed mob attacked and set fire to the building in a protest against an amateur film deemed offensive to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, after similar protests in Egypt’s capital.
“One American staff member has died and a number have been injured in the clashes,” Abdel-Monem Al-Hurr, spokesman for Libya’s Supreme Security Committee, said on Wednesday, adding that rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the building from a nearby farm.
“There are fierce clashes between the Libyan army and an armed militia outside the US consulate.” He also said roads had been closed off and security forces were surrounding the building.
Just hours earlier on Tuesday, thousands of Egyptian demonstrators apparently angry over the same film – a video produced by expatriate members of Egypt’s Coptic community resident in the US – tore down the Stars and Stripes at the US embassy in Cairo and replaced it with a black Islamic flag.
Outrage continues into the night outside US embassy in Cairo (Video)
Anti-Islam movie funded by 100 Jewish donors, producer claims
(Times of Israel) – 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.
Protests spurred by film in US mocking prophet Muhammad
(The Spec) – Organizers of the protest at the embassy said they’d begun planning the event last week when a controversial Egyptian Christian activist who lives in the United States, Morris Sadek, released a trailer for a movie called “Muhammad” that repeatedly mocks the prophet and the religion. The 14-minute clip, which Sadek first posted on his Facebook page Sept 5, attacked basic tenets of the Islam and suggested that the religion had spread only because the prophet told those he encountered to “pay extortion or die” if they didn’t convert.
Protesters outraged in Egypt and Libya over
blasphemy(Guardian) – Sam Bacile, an American citizen who said he produced, directed and wrote the two-hour film said he had not anticipated such a furious reaction. Speaking from a telephone with a California number, he said the film was produced in English and he doesn’t know who dubbed it in Arabic.
“The main problem is I am the first one to put on the screen someone who is (portraying) Muhammad. It makes them mad,” he said in an interview in a telephone number in California. “But we have to open the door. After 9/11 everybody should be in front of the judge, even Jesus, even Muhammad.”
He said many of the film’s cast quit half way through the production, which he started “three or four” years ago, because they were afraid of Muslims. The film also addresses the persecution of Copts in Egypt and blames the U.S. and its allies for fighting Muslims. “The U.S. should fight the ideology, not the people.”
Morris Sadek, an Egyptian-born Christian in the U.S. known for his anti-Islam views, told AP from Washington that he was promoting the video on his website and on certain TV stations, which he did not identify. He said the video “explains the problems of the Copts who suffer from Muslims,” which he blamed on the Quran itself.
- Charles Krauthammer: Tell Egyptian mob “go to hell”
- U.S. Pro-Israel Think Tank Middle East Forum helped fund Dutch anti-Islam politician Wilders
Original title: U.S. Embassy Cairo – Protestors Breach the Security Walls below the fold …
Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens No. 24: Possible Demonstrations, September 11, 2012
CAIRO, Egypt – Several different groups are calling for demonstrations in both downtown and Garden City this afternoon to protest a range of issues. These groups may gather in front of the U.S. Embassy, or Egyptian government buildings such as the People’s Assembly and Ministry of Interior, beginning in the early afternoon and continuing into the evening. It is unclear if large numbers will take to the streets, but clashes may occur should two opposing groups come into contact with one another. Large gatherings and non-essential travel in and around Downtown and Garden City should be avoided this afternoon.
U.S. citizens should avoid areas where large gatherings may occur. Even demonstrations or events intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. U.S. citizens in Egypt are urged to monitor local news reports and to plan their activities accordingly. The Embassy reminds U.S. citizens to review their personal security plans and remain alert to their surroundings at all times in Egypt.
Egyptians angry at film scale U.S. embassy walls
CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) – Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy in Cairo and pulled down the American flag during a protest over what they said was a film being produced in the United States that insulted Prophet Mohammad, witnesses said.
In place of the U.S. flag, the protesters tried to raise a black flag with the words “There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his messenger.” Once the U.S. flag was hauled down, protesters tore it up, with some showing off small pieces to television cameras. Then others burned remains.
“This movie must be banned immediately and an apology should be made … This is a disgrace,” said 19-year-old, Ismail Mahmoud, a member of the so-called “ultras” soccer supporters who played a big role in the uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak last year. Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet to be offensive.
Mahmoud called on President Mohamed Mursi, Egypt’s first civilian president and an Islamist, to take action. Many others were supporters of Islamist groups.
About 20 people stood on top of the embassy wall in central Cairo, where about 2,000 protesters had gathered.
“There is no god but Allah, Mohammad is Allah’s messenger. We will sacrifice ourselves for you, Allah’s messenger,” they chanted, with many waving religious flags.
One slogan scrawled on the walls of the embassy, a fortress-like structure that 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.”
An Egyptian state website carried a statement by Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church condemning what it said were moves by some Copts living abroad “to finance the production of a film insulting Prophet Mohammad”.
Violent anti-Semitism applauded on Egypt TV – Jerusalem Post
