US Movie insulting Prophet Muhammed - protestors burn US embassy in Libya, kill envoy .
Shahzad Shameem
http://rt.com/news/us-ambassador-libya-killed-946/
US ambassador, 3 staffers killed in militia attack on Benghazi consulate - reports
12 September, 2012
The US ambassador to Libya was killed by local militia in an attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Reuters quoted Libyan official as saying. US embassy in Libya has not yet commented on the report. J. Christopher Stevens and three other consulate employees were reportedly killed on Tuesday during clashes between armed militia members and army soldiers, as a mob stormed the compound. US State Department neither confirmed nor denied the death of its ambassador.
The US diplomatic facility in eastern Libya was evacuated following violent clashes, and an enraged crowd of militia members stormed the building and set it on fire. The violence was part of a protest against an American amateur film deemed offensive to the Prophet Muhammad. A similar incident took place in Cairo, Egypt’s capital.
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http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/09/12/261104/antiislam-movie-made-by-israeliamerican/
Anti-Islam movie directed, produced by Israeli-American: US media
Sep 12, 2012
The controversial movie that has sparked outrage in the Muslim world has been produced by an anti-Islam Israeli-American, US media say. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Israeli-American Sam Bacile has directed and produced the blasphemous movie. Bacile, 52, is a real-estate developer living in southern California and a sworn enemy of Islam. He has assumed responsibility for the film, which he said was made thanks to Jewish donations totaling $5 million. Earlier, a staff member of the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi was killed and one security guard injured during clashes, triggered over the anti-Islam film, at the consulate building.
The incident occurred following a massive demonstration held earlier in the day in neighboring Egypt to condemn a movie that insults Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Thousands of Egyptians gathered in front of the US Embassy in Cairo to express their anger over the movie. The protesters scaled the walls of the embassy, pulled down the US flag, and called for the expulsion of the US ambassador to Cairo. They also asked the US government to apologize to the Muslim world over the release of the movie.
A similar incident occurred in Egypt earlier on Tuesday as several thousands of Egyptians protested in front of the U.S. embassy in the capital Cairo, expressing anger over a movie produced by some Coptic migrants in the United States which insulted the Prophet Mohammed. The U.S. embassy in Cairo condemned in a statement bids by some individuals to hurt the feeling of Muslims, saying that " respecting religious beliefs is the corner stone of the American democracy." "We reject acts by those misusing the freedom of expression in offending other religions," the statement added.
US ambassador in Libya killed in rocket attack while fleeing protest over Mohamed film, claims official
Samia Nakhoul , Marie-Louise Gumuchian
12 September 2012
The US ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staff were killed in a rocket attack last night that targeted his car in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, a Libyan official said on today. "The American ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them," the official in Benghazi told Reuters. Asked about the deaths, a US Embassy employee in Tripoli said: "We have no information regarding this." The employee said the embassy could confirm the death of one person. The Libyan official said the US ambassador had been on his way to a safer venue after protesters attacked the US Consulate in Benghazi and opened fire, killing a staff member, in protest at a US film that they deemed blasphemous to the Prophet Mohamed.
The official said the ambassador and three other staff were killed when gunmen fired rockets at his car. He said the US Embassy had sent a military plane to transport the bodies to Tripoli to fly them to the United States. Gunmen assaulted the Benghazi compound yesterday evening, clashing with Libyan security forces, who withdrew under heavy fire. The attackers fired at the buildings while others threw handmade bombs into the compound, setting off small explosions. Small fires were burning around the compound. The assault followed a protest in neighbouring Egypt where demonstrators scaled the walls of the US embassy, tore down the American flag and burned it during a protest over the same film which they said insulted the Prophet Mohamed.
US ambassador to Libya 'killed in attack on Benghazi consulate'
An American diplomat has been killed by an armed Islamist mob that stormed and set fire to the United States consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, apparently in protest at a film attacking the Prophet Mohammed.
By Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent, Cairo
12 September 2012
Protesters destroy an American flag pulled down from the U.S. embassy in Cairo Tuesday Photo: AP
The attack on Tuesday night followed another earlier in the day on the American embassy in Cairo, in which no-one was injured but the flag was taken down and torn up and replaced with the black flag used by radical Islamists. The violence was condemned by Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, who confirmed the death of a State Department official. "We are heartbroken by this terrible loss," she said. She said that in light of the attacks the US would be stepping up protection of "our personnel, our missions, and American citizens worldwide". The mobs involved in both embassy attacks were mainly comprised of Salafis, followers of an ultra-traditionalist approach to Islam that has spread across North Africa as well as much of the rest of the Arab world from Saudi Arabia in recent years.
Although they were not the prime movers in the "Arab Spring" protests, they have become much more visible in countries like Libya where secular dictators have been overthrown. They are incensed by a film made in America and promoted on Youtube entitled "The Innocence of Muslims" that is intended to expose the "hypocrisy" of Islam. It not only portrays the Prophet, which the religion prohibits, but ridicules him as a homosexual and advocate of paedophilia, and shows him having sex. It was apparently made by an Israeli-American businessman and backed by Terry Jones, the fundamentalist pastor who previously threatened to hold public burnings of the Koran. A version of the film, which is in English, has been dubbed into Egyptian Arabic and shown on the website of an Egyptian Coptic Christian businessman based in America.
In Cairo, the protests started on Tuesday afternoon, with hundreds of Salafists attacking and some climbing the fortress-like walls of the embassy. They did not enter the building itself, but one man managed to bring down the Stars and Stripes flag and replace it with a black flag with the Islamic inscription "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is His Prophet". That flag has become associated with Salafism, though other Islamist groups have used it in the Arab Spring. The attack in Benghazi, which last year was the launch-pad of the revolution which overthrew Col Muammar Gaddafi and is a seat of Islamist politics in Libya, took place later in the evening.
The mob there was armed and sprayed the Libyan security forces defending the building with gunfire, and even shot rocket-propelled grenades. Overwhelming the defences, they then proceeded to hurl small home-made bombs at the buildings, loot it and then set it on fire. Staff inside were evacuated, though not before one was shot dead, Libyan officials said. Another was injured in the hand. A number of Libyan security guards were seen being taken to hospital. The State Department's initial reaction to the protests set off a political row. The initial statement by the embassy in Cairo, before the attack in Libya, condemned "the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims, as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions."
The later statement, confirming the death of the consulate worker, by Mrs Clinton said: "The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. "But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind." But Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, said: ""I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. "It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks."
The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is set on fire during a protest. Armed gunmen attacked the compound on
Tuesday evening, clashing with Libyan security forces before the latter withdrew as they came under heavy fire.
People shout slogans and light flares in front of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.
Armed militiamen had attacked the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing a staff member.
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/12/world/meast/egpyt-us-embassy-protests/
Protesters attack U.S. diplomatic compounds in Egypt, Libya
By David Ariosto, CNN
September 12, 2012 -- Updated 0916 GMT
An armed man waves his rifle as buildings and cars are engulfed in flames after being set on fire inside the U.S. Consulate compound in Benghazi, Libya, late on Tuesday, September 11. An armed mob protesting a film they said offended Islam attacked the consulate in Benghazi and set fire to the building, killing one American staff member, witnesses and officials said.
Cairo (CNN) -- The United States said it was taking measures to protect its citizens worldwide after protesters angry about an online film considered offensive to Islam attacked U.S. diplomatic compounds in Libya and Egypt on Tuesday, killing an American. In Cairo, several men scaled the walls of the U.S. Embassy and tore down its American flag, according to CNN producer Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, who was on the scene. In Libya, witnesses say members of a radical Islamist group called Ansar al-Sharia protested near the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, where NATO jets established no-fly zones last year to blunt ground attacks from then Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
The group then clashed with security forces in the city, blocking roads leading to the consulate, witnesses said. A U.S. State Department officer was killed in the violence in Benghazi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement late Tuesday. "We are heartbroken by this terrible loss," Clinton said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who have suffered in this attack." Clinton said that she condemned the attack on the U.S. facilities "in the strongest terms" and that following Tuesday's events, the U.S. government was "working with partner countries around the world to protect our personnel, our missions and American citizens worldwide."
Libya's General National Congress also condemned the attack, saying it "led to the regrettable injury and death of a number of individuals." Lawmakers said in a statement Tuesday night that they were investigating. It was unclear whether the two attacks were coordinated, CNN national security contributor Fran Townsend said Tuesday night. "One such breach of an embassy or consulate's walls or security on any given day would be tremendous news. ... The fact that two of them happened on the same day that is the 9/11 anniversary where Americans are remembering those that we lost, you have to ask yourself, what are American officials trying to understand about this and whether or not these two are related?" she asked.
The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation.
Hillary Clinton, U.S. secretary of state In Egypt, police and army personnel formed defensive lines around the U.S. Embassy in an effort to prevent demonstrators from advancing, but not before the protesters affixed a black flag atop a ladder in the American compound. The black flag, which hangs in full view from inside the complex, is adorned with white characters that read, "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger," an emblem often used by Islamic radicals.
A volley of warning shots were fired, as a large crowd gathered around the compound, although it is not clear who fired the shots. Egyptian groups point to U.S. websites, including YouTube, that have scenes from the film. Some anti-Muslim blogs also have flagged the movie. In a series of disjointed scenes, the film depicts Prophet Mohammed as a child molester, womanizer and ruthless killer. The movie was made by Sam Bacile, an Israeli-American real-estate developer, according to the Wall Street Journal. Bacile -- who wrote, directed and produced the film -- said he wanted to showcase his view of Islam as a hateful religion, the Journal reported, citing a telephone interview with him.
Bacile, 52, told the newspaper that to make the film, he had raised $5 million from about 100 Jewish donors, who he declined to identify. He said he made the two-hour movie over a three-month period last year in California, using about 60 actors and 45 crew members, the Journal reported. Most of the Muslim world considers depictions of Mohammed to be blasphemous and deeply offensive. "Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet," Clinton said. "The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation."
But she stressed that "there is never any justification for violent acts of this kind." Embassy officials issued a warning to Americans in Egypt, telling them to avoid the demonstrations which "may gather in front of the U.S. Embassy, or Egyptian government buildings such as the People's Assembly and Ministry of Interior." "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," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. "Large gatherings and non-essential travel in and around downtown and Garden City should be avoided this afternoon."
Frenzied protesters could been seen Tuesday afternoon holding up bits of a shredded American flag to television camera crews while chanting anti-U.S. slogans. An embassy phone operator told CNN that the compound had been cleared of diplomatic personnel earlier in the day ahead of the apparent threat, while Egyptian riot police and the army were called in.
"This is an expression of a feeling that is thought to be an insult," said Nizih El Naggary, a spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. "But events like this are extremely deplorable. And we have to work to get things under control."
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement Tuesday, pledging to protect embassies and warning of the protests' potentially debilitating effects on the Egyptian economy. "There are police forces at the demonstrations," El Naggary said. "They should be protecting the embassy and asking people to leave." Several individuals claimed responsibility for organizing the demonstrations Tuesday, including Salafist leader Wesam Abdel-Wareth, who is president of Egypt's conservative Hekma television channel. Mohamed al-Zawahiri -- the brother of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri -- added, "We called for the peaceful protest joined by different Islamic factions including the Islamicc Jihad (and the) Hazem Abu Ismael movement."
"We were surprised to see the big numbers show up, including the soccer Ultra fans," he said. "I just want to say, how would the Americans feel if films insulting leading Christian figures like the pope or historical figures like Abraham Lincoln were produced?" He added that "the film portrays the prophet in a very ugly manner, alluding to topics like sex, which is not acceptable." The U.S. Embassy in Cairo announced that it had canceled visa services for Wednesday. It also said in a statement that it "condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims -- as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions."
"Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy," the statement said. "We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others." The embassy statement set off a political spat back in the United States after the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, criticized its message and linked it to his opponent for the White House. "It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks," Romney said in a statement released late Tuesday. He said he was "outraged" by the attacks in Libya and Egypt.
The Obama campaign quickly responded to Romney's comments. "We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack," Ben LaBolt, an Obama campaign spokesman said in an email. Demonstrations elicited a mixture of reactions from the Egyptian street, where last year tens of thousands turned out in opposition to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. This summer, Egypt's first Islamist president, Mohamed Morsy, was sworn into power at Tahrir Square, the scene of the nation's revolution in 2011. Though Tuesday's embassy protests are the first that Morsy has dealt with, Egypt recently produced similar scenarios when protesters attacked the Israeli and Syrian embassies in unrelated episodes.
"These protests are a bad image for Egypt," said a Cairo street vendor named Ahmed. "Of course I'm against insulting Islam, but it's the undereducated, poor people who are out here causing problems." "All I want for Egypt is security and stability," he said. "And as you can see this isn't it." The incident occurred on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks as crowds gathered across the United States in somber remembrance of a day that left nearly 3,000 people dead. Tuesday's focus on the controversial film also drew comparisons to outcry generated from a 2008 movie produced by an anti-Muslim Dutch lawmaker to portray Islam as a violent religion. Geert Wilders' film "Fitna," which he released online, featured images of terrorist acts superimposed over verses from the Quran.