Pakistani muslims take to streets in Friday prayer protests

Fresh protests are underway in Pakistan in response to a controversial anti-Islam film and pictures published in a French magazine. In both cases, the Prophet Muhammad is depicted - a taboo in Islam. A cinema was set on fire in the Pakistani city of Peshawar despite the efforts of armed guards there. The driver of a TV news van was killed as he tried to move in closer to the cinema and was hit by a stray bullet allegedly fired by police. The Associated Press quoted an anonymous interior ministry official in Pakistan as saying that cell phone service would be disabled in at least 15 cities until Friday evening in an effort contain the protests. Riot police have been deployed elsewhere in the country. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf's government designated Friday as an impromptu holiday to allow people to protest, calling it a "day of love for the Prophet." Protests are also underway in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, the country's highest Islamic legal official, cautioned against violent retaliation against insults to Muslims, and Tunisia has banned protests completely on Friday. Tightened security An amateur film made in the US that casts Muhammad as a brutal womanizer and child abuser infuriated many Muslims around the world, and this week's publication in the French magazine, Charlie Hebdo, of Muhammad caricatures has only added fuel to the fire. Western embassies around the world had already taken precautions in anticipation of Friday's protests, with the US government withdrawing non-essential diplomatic personnel from Tunisia and Sudan. On Thursday, US President Barack Obama sought to ease tensions by running a television commercial on Pakistani stations, condemning the California-made film, "Innocence of Muslims." The ad features Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejecting the film's message. France, meanwhile, has closed embassies and schools in 20 Muslim countries fearing backlash from the Charlie Hebdo pictures. German publication enters debate German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also issued a security alert to diplomatic personal on Thursday after the German magazine, Titanic, revealed that it planned to join the debate by publishing its own provocative images. His warning comes a week after protesters stormed the German embassy in Sudan's capital Khartoum, starting a fire and damaging the exterior of the building. Protests against the film have spread to around 20 countries and led to the deaths of at least 28 people, including America's ambassador to Libya who was killed last week.