Hezbollah: US made film to stoke Muslim-Coptic tension

Hezbollah blasted as “immoral” a little-known U.S.-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad and said it aimed at dragging Muslims and Egyptian Coptic Christians into conflict. “This [film] is a suspicious work behind which stand extremist Coptic and Jewish financiers. [It] aims to fuel the flames of hatred and raise the level of tension between Muslims and Copts in Egypt so as to drag them into accursed strife,” Hezbollah said in a statement. Hezbollah claimed that the film, which is entitled “Innocence of Muslims,” is a translation into action of deliberate U.S. and Zionist policies. “It is not an expression of individual [beliefs], but reflects the real position of the Zionist-American alliance [against] Islam and Muslims,” Hezbollah said. Conversely, the film’s writer and director, U.S.-based Sam Bacile, has identified himself as an Israeli Jew and said that funding from the film came from individual Jewish donors. Bacile has gone into hiding following the uproar created by the film, which was made in English, but has since been dubbed into Egyptian Arabic, after which parts of it were posted on YouTube. Hezbollah slammed the Arab League and the United Nations, which it accused of standing idly by. “Where is the Arab League ... Where are the Muslim peoples regarding these repeated abuses? What about human rights organizations and the United Nations?” Hezbollah asked. The group called on the U.N. to promulgate laws that criminalize such acts just like the laws that criminalize anti-Semitism. It said the film “represents the highest degree of aggression against the highest human right, represented in [having one’s] beliefs, holy places and feelings respected.” The Daily Star