Jordanians protest anti-Islam film, torch US flags
AFP, Friday 14 Sep 2012
Almost 2,000 Islamists protest in the Jordanian capital Amman against the controversial anti-Islam film; some 400 Salafist Jihadists demonstrate near the US embassy


More than 2,000 Islamists demonstrated in Amman on Friday to condemn an anti-Islam film, as the Jordanian government demanded YouTube remove trailers for the movie posted on its website.

Amid heavy security, some 400 Salafist jihadists demonstrated near the US embassy carrying black flags with the message: "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger".

"Listen (US President Barack) Obama, all of us are Osama (bin Laden)," they chanted, referring to the slain leader of Al-Qaeda.

"We sacrifice our soul and blood for the prophet," they said as they torched US flags.

The low-budget movie, in which actors have strong American accents, portrays Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent.

It pokes fun at the Prophet Mohammed and touches on themes of paedophilia and homosexuality, while showing him sleeping with women, talking about killing children and referring to a donkey as "the first Muslim animal."

"There is no excuse for making this film. They say amateurs made it. This is not true. Enemies of God made the movie, and this not the first time Islam has been insulted," Abdul Qader Shehadeh, a top Salafist leader also known as Abu Mohammad Tahawi, said during the demonstration.

"I tell American Zionists that your support to Jews will be eventually your end."

In central Amman, more than 1,500 Muslim Brotherhood supporters demonstrated against the move.

"There is no God but Allah and America is the enemy of Allah," they chanted before torching US flags.

"We do not want a US embassy on Jordanian territory."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has condemned the film as "disgusting and reprehensible" and said "the United States government had absolutely nothing to do with this video."

Similar demonstrations took place in other parts of Jordan.

Jordanian Information Minister and government spokesman Samih Maaytah said Amman has sent a letter to YouTube demanding it remove parts of the film posted on its website.

"Such insults to Islam and the prophet violate all international laws as well as Jordanian laws. We respect freedom of expression but such insults are completely rejected," he wrote, according to state-run Petra news agency.

The film has sparked violent protests across the Arab world and in several Muslim-majority countries.

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