Post date: Sep 18, 2012 4:56:47 PM
A short film made with private funds in the United States and posted on the Internet has ignited days of demonstrations in the Arab world, Africa, Asia and in some Western countries.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which represents 57 countries, added that he was shocked at the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya last week when protesters attacked the Benghazi consulate.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) denounces a film mocking the Prophet Mohammad and the violent reaction in Muslim countries around the world.
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA (SEPTEMBER 18, 2012) (REUTERS) - The head of an international group of Muslim countries on Tuesday (September 18) condemned the violence against a U.S.-made film mocking the Prophet Mohammed, a film he described as deliberately inciting hatred.
"We have strongly condemned the tragic murder of Ambassador Christopher Stephen along with three officials from the consulate in Benghazi. We believe that resorting to violence leads to loss of life and we cannot tolerate this is any way. However, everyone should also realise that this violence was generated by the feelings stirred up by the film, which offended the religious sensibilities of Muslims around the world," Ihsanoglu told a news conference at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah.
The position of the OIC echoed the official line taken by both Saudi Arabia's government and its Grand Mufti, the country's top religious authority, last week.
In statements released to official media, they denounced both the crudely-made film "the Innocence of Muslims" and the violent response of some protesters.
Media reports say Ihsanoglu had sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and made contacts with Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby, and EU foreign pollicy chief Catherine Ashton explore ways to prevent the repetition of the violence.
He stressed the international community needs to come up with an unified action with regard to implementation of international law, which warns clearly against any advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, aggression or violence.
"In about 10 days there will be a meeting of foreign ministers from Islamic countries in New York on the sidelines of the General Assembly, and we will put this issue at the top of our list of priorities for this conference," Ihsanoglu said.
In addition to the demonstrations in Libya, where the ambassador and three other U.S. diplomats were killed, at least nine people died in protests last week in Sudan, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon.
Protesters also took to the streets in Pakistan and Indonesia on Monday (September 17) and thousands also marched in Beirut, where a Hezbollah leader accused U.S. spy agencies of being behind events that have unleashed a wave of anti-Western sentiment in the Muslim and Arab world.
Authorities in Bangladesh have blocked the YouTube website indefinitely to stop people seeing the video.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have also blocked the site.
Iran has condemned the film as offensive and vowed to pursue those responsible for making it. Iranian officials have demanded the United States apologise to Muslims, saying the film is only the latest in a series of Western insults aimed at Islam's holy figures.
The identity of those directly responsible for the film remains unclear. Clips posted online since July have been attributed to a man named Sam Bacile, which two people connected with the film have said was probably an alias.
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, a Coptic Christian widely linked to the film in media reports, was questioned in California on Saturday (September 15) by U.S. authorities investigating possible violations of his probation for a bank fraud conviction.