Film portraying the Prophet Muhammad negatively has sparked protests across the Muslim world, from Libya, to Egypt from Bangladesh to Indonesia, to Pakistan; it would be hard to find a Muslim country that did not hold a protest against what they feel was blasphemous and offensive against Islam.
The filmmaker named as Nakoula, a Coptic Christian and American citizen who served federal prison time for check fraud, has been arrested and told The Associated Press in a short interview the week the story broke that he was involved in management and logistics for the anti-Islamic film.
The film described as amateurish portrays the Prophet Mohammed as a womanizer amongst other things, has caused an international crises for America the country that many Muslims see as allowing its publication.
As of mid September, more than 50 people had died as a result of violence linked to protests against the film, according to the Associated Press.
Pakistan’s Rail Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour went a step further, by offering £60,000 bounty to anyone that kills the producer of the film depicting the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) negatively; however his party and the national government of Pakistan do not support his fatwa.
In Pakistan they have reported up to 8 deaths in violent protests in Lahora and Karachi, the situation became so serious the government-declared ‘special day of love’.
To further escalate the international situation a French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published an issue with the front cover showing an Orthodox Jew pushing a figure in a wheelchair wearing a turban they depicted at Prophet Muhammad. This time the countries government acting swiftly and banned any protests against this publication.
They further commented “There will be strictly no exceptions. Demonstrations will be banned and broken up,” Interior Minister Manuel Valls told reporters in Marseille, according to news agency Reuters.
Worries over violence were triggered on the week the publication released the pictures, when there were several caricatures of the Prophet inside, including some of him naked. Many Muslims consider any representation of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad offensive. The 75,000 issues of the magazine’s first run reportedly sold out in a matter of minutes.
The magazine’s editor in chief, Stéphane Charbonnier, said that the point of the caricatures was not to provoke anger, but rather to champion free speech while poking fun at religious extremism and the violent response in many parts of the world.
The international protests have resulted in thousands of violent demonstrations and condemnation from across the political spectrum, lead by the American secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Who called the video “disgusting”.
On the 13 Sep 2012 the MCB (Muslim Council of Britain) Condemned the Middle East Riots as unjustified Response to Disgraceful Film.
| The Muslim Council (MCB) calls on all parties to halt violence sparked by outrage at a video trailer of a disgraceful film mocking the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).Such violence led to the death of US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, yesterday – the 9/11 anniversary – following the release of a trailer for a video mocking the life of Islam’s most holy figure. Crowds also stormed the US embassy grounds in Cairo, where they burned the US flag. The MCB made a statement saying: |
“We urge that such vile actions of a few on both sides must not be allowed to create divisions. Understanding, mutual respect and peaceful dialogue must prevail. We hope that others will join us in condemning both the violence in Egypt and Libya, and the irresponsible actions of the film’s producer.”
Islamic Book sales rise by 30%
30% rise for Islamic books according to recent statistics since the screening of prophets Muhammad’s blasphemous video was released.Book sellers in public libraries of the West of England announced increases between 20 and 30 percent in their printed materials which were about the glorious Faith of Islam, compared to previous months’ figures.
Workers at book shops in London told the Saudi news channel Al Arabiya that many British citizens are looking for books that explain the true divine religion of Islam and a large number of them are also trying to find translated versions of the holy Qur’an.
