US Embassy in Cairo Stormed/ Libyan Consulate Seized
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:41 pm
It is getting worse
Check it out on CNN
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/ ... 1N20120911
CAIRO | Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:07pm EDT
(Reuters) - Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy in Cairo on Tuesday 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", a Reuters reporter said.
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.
A U.S. embassy official had no immediate comment on the protesters' actions but the embassy had put out a statement earlier on Tuesday condemning those who hurt the religious feelings of Muslims or followers of any other religions.
"We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others," the U.S. embassy said in its statement.
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".
About a 10th of Egypt's 83 million people are Christians.
It was not immediately clear which film angered protesters.
However, according to the website http://www.standupamerianow.org, the Christian Pastor Terry Jones, who angered Muslims by burning a copy of the Koran, was due to take part in an event on Tuesday called "International Judge Mohammad Day" in Florida in which it would symbolically put the Prophet on trial and play it out live over the Internet.
"Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy," the U.S. embassy statement said, adding that it condemned the efforts by "misguided individuals" to hurt the feelings of Muslims.
In another incident prompted by similar sentiments last month, a lone man attacked the German embassy with homemade nail bombs and a hammer with which he cracked glass at the entrance, following a report about a protest in Germany where demonstrators bore caricatures of the Prophet outside a mosque.
No one was injured and there was no serious damage in that incident.
(Reporting by Tamim Elyan and Reuters correspondents; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Alison Williams)
Libyans Set Fire to U.S. Consulate, Protesters Breach U.S. Embassy in Egypt in Anger Over Film
By Daniel Politi
|
Posted Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, at 8:00 PM ET
103
151773652
Egyptian protesters raise a black flag inside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo inscribed with the Muslim profession of belief: "There is no God but God and Mohammed is the prophet of God"
Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/GettyImages
UPDATE: An American staff member of the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi died after gunmen attacked the compound on Tuesday evening. An unspecified number of Americans were also reportedly injured, according to Reuters.
Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m.: Anger over a movie that allegedly insults the Prophet Mohammed appears to be spreading. First, a group of protesters scaled the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and pulled down an American flag in what was the first time the U.S. Embassy in Cairo has ever been breached. Later, militants in Libya stormed the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, the country’s second-largest city, and set it on fire to protest the video, reports the Associated Press.
It was not immediately clear what film the protesters were referring to, but the Washington Post points out that allegations of the movie had been in the Egyptian media for several days. The AP refers to "a video being promoted by an extreme anti-Muslim Egyptian Christian campaigner in the U.S." that "depicts Muhammad as a fraud, showing him having sex and calling for massacres." It really isn't clear because the AP isn't giving many clues but it seems this might be the movie in question. The AP interviews a Sam Bacile, an American citizen who said he produced and directed the movie, and the video seems to be in his YouTube account.
Or it could be something else. A prestigious mosque in Egypt condemned a symbolic “trial” of the Prophet Mohammed that was organized by a U.S. group that included Terry Jones, the pastor who triggered riots in Afghanistan by threatening to burn the Quran. Reuters points to standupamericanow.org, where a “trial and execution” of Prophet Mohammed will be broadcast on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, which the group appears to have dubbed “International Judge Muhammad Day.”
When protesters took down the U.S. flag in the Cairo embassy, some tore it up and showed off pieces to the cameras. Others burned the remains outside the embassy grounds, reports Reuters. According to Egypt’s Ahram Online, no one appears to have been injured in the demonstration. A CNN producer on the ground says warning shots were fired, but it's not clear who did the firing.
Kristen Chick of the Christian Science Monitor reports that most of the protesters had never seen the film but had heard about it from religious leaders or read about it on social networks.
Check it out on CNN
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/ ... 1N20120911
CAIRO | Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:07pm EDT
(Reuters) - Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy in Cairo on Tuesday 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", a Reuters reporter said.
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.
A U.S. embassy official had no immediate comment on the protesters' actions but the embassy had put out a statement earlier on Tuesday condemning those who hurt the religious feelings of Muslims or followers of any other religions.
"We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others," the U.S. embassy said in its statement.
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".
About a 10th of Egypt's 83 million people are Christians.
It was not immediately clear which film angered protesters.
However, according to the website http://www.standupamerianow.org, the Christian Pastor Terry Jones, who angered Muslims by burning a copy of the Koran, was due to take part in an event on Tuesday called "International Judge Mohammad Day" in Florida in which it would symbolically put the Prophet on trial and play it out live over the Internet.
"Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy," the U.S. embassy statement said, adding that it condemned the efforts by "misguided individuals" to hurt the feelings of Muslims.
In another incident prompted by similar sentiments last month, a lone man attacked the German embassy with homemade nail bombs and a hammer with which he cracked glass at the entrance, following a report about a protest in Germany where demonstrators bore caricatures of the Prophet outside a mosque.
No one was injured and there was no serious damage in that incident.
(Reporting by Tamim Elyan and Reuters correspondents; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Alison Williams)
Libyans Set Fire to U.S. Consulate, Protesters Breach U.S. Embassy in Egypt in Anger Over Film
By Daniel Politi
|
Posted Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, at 8:00 PM ET
103
151773652
Egyptian protesters raise a black flag inside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo inscribed with the Muslim profession of belief: "There is no God but God and Mohammed is the prophet of God"
Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/GettyImages
UPDATE: An American staff member of the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi died after gunmen attacked the compound on Tuesday evening. An unspecified number of Americans were also reportedly injured, according to Reuters.
Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m.: Anger over a movie that allegedly insults the Prophet Mohammed appears to be spreading. First, a group of protesters scaled the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and pulled down an American flag in what was the first time the U.S. Embassy in Cairo has ever been breached. Later, militants in Libya stormed the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, the country’s second-largest city, and set it on fire to protest the video, reports the Associated Press.
It was not immediately clear what film the protesters were referring to, but the Washington Post points out that allegations of the movie had been in the Egyptian media for several days. The AP refers to "a video being promoted by an extreme anti-Muslim Egyptian Christian campaigner in the U.S." that "depicts Muhammad as a fraud, showing him having sex and calling for massacres." It really isn't clear because the AP isn't giving many clues but it seems this might be the movie in question. The AP interviews a Sam Bacile, an American citizen who said he produced and directed the movie, and the video seems to be in his YouTube account.
Or it could be something else. A prestigious mosque in Egypt condemned a symbolic “trial” of the Prophet Mohammed that was organized by a U.S. group that included Terry Jones, the pastor who triggered riots in Afghanistan by threatening to burn the Quran. Reuters points to standupamericanow.org, where a “trial and execution” of Prophet Mohammed will be broadcast on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, which the group appears to have dubbed “International Judge Muhammad Day.”
When protesters took down the U.S. flag in the Cairo embassy, some tore it up and showed off pieces to the cameras. Others burned the remains outside the embassy grounds, reports Reuters. According to Egypt’s Ahram Online, no one appears to have been injured in the demonstration. A CNN producer on the ground says warning shots were fired, but it's not clear who did the firing.
Kristen Chick of the Christian Science Monitor reports that most of the protesters had never seen the film but had heard about it from religious leaders or read about it on social networks.
Allaahu Akbar