http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/09/201292216919289217.html
http://dawn.com/2012/09/22/pakistan-minister-announces-100000-bounty-on-anti-islam-film-maker/
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http://news.antiwar.com/2012/09/21/19-killed-160-wounded-in-anti-us-protests-in-pakistan/
Pakistan’s attempts to keep the anti-US protests semi-organized by declaring a national holiday today was a miserable failure, as the tens of thousands of demonstrators clashed with police, leaving 25 people killedand another 160 wounded.
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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/09/20129219618263113.html
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/21/us-protests-france-ban-idUSBRE88K0G820120921
| Pakistan minister offers bounty on film-maker | |||||||
Government distances itself from federal minister who offered $100,000 for killing anti-Islam video producer.
Last Modified: 23 Sep 2012 11:42
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The government of Pakistan has condemned a minister for his offer of a reward for the death of the US-based producer believed to be behind an anti-Islam video.
Islamabad's distancing comes after Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, the federal railways minister, offered a $100,000 bounty for the death of the California-based maker of the video on Saturday.Bilour also invited members of the Taliban and al-Qaeda to take part in what he called a "noble deed".
"I announce today that this blasphemer who has abused the holy prophet, if somebody will kill him, I will give that person a prize of $100,000," he said.
A spokesperson for Raja Pervez Ashraf, Pakistan's prime minister, rejected Balour's comments."This is not government policy. We completely dissociate [ourselves] from this," Shafqat Jalil told the AFP news agency on Sunday. Rubina Khalid, a senator with the ruling Pakistan People's Party questioned the minister's motives. "We have never seen Mr Bilour taking any active part in any religious activities," she told Al Jazeera. "We have got nothing to do with it [the comments], we all condemn it, and I think strict action should be taken against him," she said. 'Jihad, jihad' Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said that Bilour was acting on his own and his bounty offer should not be taken as an official government action. "Let's not forget that this is a minister that has destroyed the Pakistani railways," Hyder said.
Bilour is considered by some in Pakistan to be partially responsible for the deteriorating situation of the country's railways.
The producer of the film, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, is reportedly a 55-year-old Egyptian Copt and convicted fraudster, out on parole, who lives in Los Angeles.
Bilour's announcement came after more than 5,000 protesters, including hundreds of women, marched towards the parliament in Islamabad on Saturday, chanting: "We love our Holy Prophet" and "Punishment for those who humiliated our Prophet."
About 500 people from the group Jamaat-ud-Dawa also staged a protest in front of the US consulate in the eastern city of Lahore, chanting: "The US deserves only one remedy - jihad, jihad."
The protests were peaceful, in contrast to the previous day's demonstrations. Outrage continues Peaceful demonstrations against the anti-Islam video continued in other locations on Sunday. In Hong Kong, 3,000 people gathered outside the US consulate, according to police and organisers. Meanwhile in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, schools, shops and offices were closed as opposition parties enforced a nationwide strike to protest against the video.
Authorities in Bangladesh had on Saturday fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who defied a ban on demonstrations. The clash erupted after the protesters from an alliance of 12 Islamist parties tried to hold a rally in central Dhaka despite a 24-hour ban on gathers in the area, Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told the AFP news agency. "They defied our ban and tried to stage a protest against the anti-Islam film. At one stage, they started pelting stones at policemen," he said, adding that police arrested several people including some leaders of the group. In Nigeria, thousands of people gathered to demonstrate against the video in the northern city of Kano on Saturday. They called on the US to stop insulting Muslims and chanted "Death to America, death to Israel and death to the enemies of Islam." Police were deployed to the rally, which was organised by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a pro-Iranian group that adheres to the Shia branch of Islam. 'Outrageous and intolerable' The low budget film, Innocence of Muslims, has incited a wave of bloody anti-US violence in cities in more than 20 countries.
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http://dawn.com/2012/09/22/pakistan-minister-announces-100000-bounty-on-anti-islam-film-maker/
Pakistan minister announces $100,000 bounty on anti-Islam film maker
DawnNews | DAWN.COM | 5 hours ago
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Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour.—File Photo
PESHAWAR: A Pakistani federal minister has announced a bounty of $100,000 on the maker of the American film “Innocence of Muslims” disrespecting the Holy Prophet (PBUH), DawnNews reported.
Speaking here at a press conference on Saturday, the Federal Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmed Bilour said that he was aware that it was a crime to instigate the people for murder, but he was ready to commit the crime. He added that there was no way to instill fear among blasphemers other than taking this step.
The minister also called on members of the Taliban and al Qaeda for their support, saying that if members of the banned militant organisations kill the maker of the blasphemous movie, they will also be rewarded.
The low-budget film titled ‘Innocence of Muslims’ has sparked fury and rage across the much of the Muslim world, including Pakistan.
At least 23 people were killed and over 200 injured across the country on Friday — a day designated by the government to demonstrate love for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and condemn the anti-Islam video.
and....
http://news.antiwar.com/2012/09/21/19-killed-160-wounded-in-anti-us-protests-in-pakistan/
25 Killed, 160 Wounded in Anti-US Protests in Pakistan
Tens of Thousands Rally Worldwide, At Least 55 Killed Since Protests Began
by Jason Ditz, September 21, 2012
Another Friday means another day of anti-US protests around the globe, as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Muslim countries to protest a YouTube trailer for an anti-Muslim film. The worst of the violence in the demonstrations was in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s attempts to keep the anti-US protests semi-organized by declaring a national holiday today was a miserable failure, as the tens of thousands of demonstrators clashed with police, leaving 25 people killedand another 160 wounded.
By far the deadliest incidents were inKarachi, where protesters set fire to police vans and at least three movie theater, burned tires and US flags. The clashes with police ended with between 12 and 14 people slain, including a Karachi policeman.
Protests took place in a number of countries, with major rallies in Indonesia and Bangladesh. New nations seeing protests were Germany and Norway, where members of those nations’ Muslim minorities condemned the film.
All told the protests have seen at least 55 people killed worldwide in a little over a week. Pakistan accounts for roughly half of this, while places like Libya also saw significant violence.
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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/09/20129219618263113.html
| Insults to Islam stir mass Pakistan protests | ||||||
At least 17 reported killed as demonstrators clash with police, while nation holds "Love the Prophet Day" marches.
Last Modified: 21 Sep 2012 22:37
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| Reports say more than 17 people have died as demonstrations against an anti-Islam video erupted across Pakistan, a day after protesters tried to storm the US embassy in the capital, Islamabad. Tens of thousands of Pakistanis took to the streets across the country after the government called an impromptu public holiday to let people protest under the banner of "Love the Prophet Day".
In Karachi, armed protesters among a group of 15,000 fired on police, killing two officers, as at least 10 protesters died in the violence. The crowd also burned six cinemas, two banks, a KFC and five police vehicles.
Witnesses said a separate rampaging crowd stormed the Shama cinema, notorious locally for showing films considered to be pornographic. In the Pakistani city of Peshawar, police fired on rioters who were torching a cinema. Mohammad Amir, a driver for a Pakistani television station, was killed when police bullets hit his vehicle at the scene, said Kashif Mahmood, a reporter for ARY TV. At least four protesters and one police officer were killed in the northwestern city, along with 40 injured and two cinemas and two shops torched. In the capital Islamabad, some 19 protesters and eight police were injured. And in Lahore, at least five protesters were wounded. Police on alert "They do not want this anti-Islam video to be supported by the United States," said Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad. "Despite the fact that the American president has said that they have got nothing to do with it, the people here are very angry."
In Karachi, police told AFP news agency they had been on maximum alert and that bomb-disposal squads were sweeping planned locations of protests. "All the entry and exit points of the city are heavily guarded. Helicopters are on stand-by for aerial surveillance," Fayyaz Laghari, provincial police chief, said.
"We have deployed our maximum police force to the sensitive parts of the city to ensure security during protest rallies today."
All the major political parties and religious groups had announced protests for Friday, as did many trade and transport organisations. The previous day, the US embassy became the latest target of protesters angry at the YouTube video. The total number of protesters touched 5,000 with the arrival of protesters carrying the flags of anti-American Islamist groups. At least 50 people were injured as police fired tear gas and live rounds towards the crowds. US launches PR blitz Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from the US state department, said: "So there's a lot of concern that there could be real blowback against the US." "The US has been very concerned about the prospect for demonstrations across Pakistan because of what has happened between the two countries in the past year." Our correspondent continued: "Pakistan is one of those countries where anti-American sentiment is already quite high and certainly having this video - said to be the genesis for so many of these demonstrations across the region - doesn't help the US cause." US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met on Friday with Pakistan's foreign minister, who avoided an invitation to explicitly condemn the violence. Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Clinton called on "leaders and responsible people everywhere to stand up and speak out against violence". Standing beside her, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar focused her comments entirely on the film, which Muslims believe is blasphemous. She thanked Clinton for speaking out against the video, saying it sent a "strong message" that should help end the violence.
Against this tense backdrop, the US bought time on Pakistani television stations to run a series of ads on Thursday in an effort to assuage Muslim feelings of hurt.
The US hopes the ad would show that the country had no involvement with the controversial internet video. The US embassy in Islamabad spent about $70,000 to run the announcement, which features clips of US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and underscores US respect for religion, declaring the US government had nothing to do with the video. Obama is shown saying: "Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others." Clinton then says: "Let me state very clearly, the United States has absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its contents. America's commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation." Addressing a media briefing on the ad campaign, Victoria Nuland, state department spokeswoman, said the aim was "to make sure that the Pakistani people hear the president's messages and the secretary's messages". 'Feelings of dignity' Meanwhile, the US closed its diplomatic missions across Indonesia due to continuing demonstrations over the anti-Islam film. Protests also occurred on Friday by Sunni and Shia groups in Lebanon, where the Hezbollah movement organised a large rally in the city of Baalbek. Elsewhere, some 10,000 Bangladeshis marched in Dhaka, 3,000 Iraqis took to the streets in the southern city of Basra, 2,000 Sri Lankans rallied in the capital Colombo and scattered demonstrations occurred in Afghanistan and Kashmir. In Libya, rival demonstrations occurred by an anti-militia "Save Benghazi" group, and by the Salafi group Ansar Sharia, widely accused of being behind the attack on the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city. Police cracked down on any planned rallies in the Tunisian capital, while some 200 Moroccans protested in Rabat's twin city of Sale.
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and....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/21/us-protests-france-ban-idUSBRE88K0G820120921
(Reuters) - France confirmed on Friday it would allow no street protests against cartoons denigrating Islam's Prophet Mohammad that were published by a French magazine this week.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls said prefects throughout the country had orders to prohibit any protest over the issue and crack down if the ban was challenged.
"There will be strictly no exceptions. Demonstrations will be banned and broken up," he said.
French embassies, consulates, cultural centres and schools in around 20 Muslim countries shut up shop on Friday – the Muslim holy day – for fear of retaliatory violence following weekly prayers. The order came from the foreign ministry, which anticipates violent demonstrations over the publishing Wednesday of Prophet Mohammed cartoons by satirical weekly, Charlie Hebdo. The obscene cartoons exacerbated anger among Muslim communities after more than a week of deadly protests sparked by the US-made amateurish video “Innocence of Muslims”.
Security had been beefed up on security arrangements at institutions abroad and in France, with reinforcements and armed guards on standby. The French Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning urging French citizens in the Muslim world to exercise “the greatest vigilance,” avoiding public gatherings and “sensitive buildings.” Tens of thousands of French expatriates live in Muslim countries.
Protests over the cartoons – which showed the Prophet Mohammed naked – had already begun Thursday in Tehran and Kabul. Demonstrators chanted “death to France” outside the French embassies in the two capitals. One student told TV reporters that the “doomed, nasty French” had committed an offence that the activists were willing to “sacrifice” themselves for. “What were they thinking?” he asked.
Security had been beefed up on security arrangements at institutions abroad and in France, with reinforcements and armed guards on standby. The French Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning urging French citizens in the Muslim world to exercise “the greatest vigilance,” avoiding public gatherings and “sensitive buildings.” Tens of thousands of French expatriates live in Muslim countries.
Protests over the cartoons – which showed the Prophet Mohammed naked – had already begun Thursday in Tehran and Kabul. Demonstrators chanted “death to France” outside the French embassies in the two capitals. One student told TV reporters that the “doomed, nasty French” had committed an offence that the activists were willing to “sacrifice” themselves for. “What were they thinking?” he asked.
In Tunisia, French schools were shut down from Wednesday until next Monday after the ruling Islamists branded the cartoons a "new attack" on their religion. One parent outside a school in Tunis told FRANCE 24 that she was reassured by the decision. “It's better not to take any chances, given that we don't really have faith in the security system,” she said. But another thought officials were overreacting. "I don't understand the need to close for several days," he said, adding that one or two key days would be enough.
Concern at home
One Islamist militant, Mu’awiyya al-Qahtani, called for retaliation attacks in France to avenge the cartoons. “Is there someone who will roll up his sleeves and bring back to us the glory of the hero Mohammed Merah?” he asked on an Islamist forum monitored by the US-based SITE intelligence group. He was referring to an al Qaeda-inspired gunman who killed seven people, including three Jewish children, in the southern French city of Toulouse in March.
The Socialist government also faces a dilemma over how to manage the country’s four-million strong Muslim community, which French authorities have struggled to integrate in the past.
Muslims attending prayers at mosques in France on Friday will hear an appeal for calm but community leaders have also pressed the government to do more to restrict the ability of media to publish "insulting" material, arguing that incitement to religious hatred should be put on a par with race hate crimes.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls banned all protests over the video "Innocence of Muslims," following a violent demonstration last weekend near the US embassy in Paris, and has made it clear he will not sanction any mass protests over the Charlie Hebdo cartoons either.
Concern at home
One Islamist militant, Mu’awiyya al-Qahtani, called for retaliation attacks in France to avenge the cartoons. “Is there someone who will roll up his sleeves and bring back to us the glory of the hero Mohammed Merah?” he asked on an Islamist forum monitored by the US-based SITE intelligence group. He was referring to an al Qaeda-inspired gunman who killed seven people, including three Jewish children, in the southern French city of Toulouse in March.
Muslims attending prayers at mosques in France on Friday will hear an appeal for calm but community leaders have also pressed the government to do more to restrict the ability of media to publish "insulting" material, arguing that incitement to religious hatred should be put on a par with race hate crimes.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls banned all protests over the video "Innocence of Muslims," following a violent demonstration last weekend near the US embassy in Paris, and has made it clear he will not sanction any mass protests over the Charlie Hebdo cartoons either.
Charlie Hebdo under police protection
The government has been forced to deploy riot police to protect Charlie Hebdo's offices, which were fire-bombed last year following the publication of an edition "guest-edited" by Mohammed that they dubbed "Sharia Hebdo". Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed should not be depicted at all – even in a flattering way – because it might encourage idolatry.
The left-wing, libertarian weekly's editor, Stephane Charbonnier, has also been assigned police body guards, but he is unrepentant about the furore he has caused and has dismissed suggestions his timing could have been better.
"The world context will never be favourable to having a laugh at the expense of radical Islam or religion in general," he said. "If we take account of context we will not be able to talk about anything anymore, the satirical press is doomed. We're screwed."
Ministers have criticised the timing of Charlie Hebdo's publication of the cartoons but made it clear they support the paper's right to express its opinions however it sees fit and no matter how much offence it causes.
Hélène Conway-Mouret, Minister for French Nationals Abroad, told FRANCE 24 on Thursday that Charlie Hebdo had perhaps “decided to test how far they could go” concerning the limits of freedom of speech, but that the paper’s editors “probably didn’t envisage the impact [their actions] could actually have on French citizens abroad, possibly putting their lives in danger.”
Thousands of extra copies hit newsstands on Thursday after the weekly's usual print run of 75,000 copies sold out within hours.
The government has been forced to deploy riot police to protect Charlie Hebdo's offices, which were fire-bombed last year following the publication of an edition "guest-edited" by Mohammed that they dubbed "Sharia Hebdo". Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed should not be depicted at all – even in a flattering way – because it might encourage idolatry.
The left-wing, libertarian weekly's editor, Stephane Charbonnier, has also been assigned police body guards, but he is unrepentant about the furore he has caused and has dismissed suggestions his timing could have been better.
"The world context will never be favourable to having a laugh at the expense of radical Islam or religion in general," he said. "If we take account of context we will not be able to talk about anything anymore, the satirical press is doomed. We're screwed."
Ministers have criticised the timing of Charlie Hebdo's publication of the cartoons but made it clear they support the paper's right to express its opinions however it sees fit and no matter how much offence it causes.
Hélène Conway-Mouret, Minister for French Nationals Abroad, told FRANCE 24 on Thursday that Charlie Hebdo had perhaps “decided to test how far they could go” concerning the limits of freedom of speech, but that the paper’s editors “probably didn’t envisage the impact [their actions] could actually have on French citizens abroad, possibly putting their lives in danger.”
Thousands of extra copies hit newsstands on Thursday after the weekly's usual print run of 75,000 copies sold out within hours.
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| Clashes mark Pakistan anti-video protests | ||||
One death reported in Peshawar as demonstrators clash with police in several cities while nation holds day of protest.
Last Modified: 21 Sep 2012 11:15
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| At least one person has died as demonstrations against an anti-Islam video erupt across Pakistan, a day after protesters tried to storm the US embassy in the capital, Islamabad. Angry demonstrators set fire to two cinemas in the northwestern city of Peshawar, police and witnesses said on Friday, as the country began a day of protests.
One protester was wounded when a cinema guard opened fire as crowds armed with clubs and bamboo poles converged on the Firdaus picture house, "smashing it up and setting furniture ablaze", according to Gohar Ali, a police officer.
Witnesses said a separate rampaging crowd stormed the Shama cinema, notorious locally for showing films considered to be pornographic. Tens of thousands of Pakistanis were expected to take to the streets across the country after the government called an impromptu public holiday to let people protest. Police on alert The protests followed clashes on Thursday as security forces used tear gas and live rounds to disperse protesters close to the US embassy in Islamabad. "Thousand of people have already gathered and more are expected to join in the next half an hour as Friday prayers conclude across the city," Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder reported from the city on Friday. "The most important thing here will be whether these protesters are able to get close to the diplomatic area as they did yesterday in battles with the police.
In Karachi, police told AFP news agency they were on maximum alert and that bomb-disposal squads were sweeping planned locations of protests. "All the entry and exit points of the city are heavily guarded. Helicopters are on stand-by for aerial surveillance," Fayyaz Laghari, provincial police chief, said. "We have deployed our maximum police force to the sensitive parts of the city to ensure security during protest rallies today."
Friday was designated a "day of expression of love for the prophet" by the government, which called for peaceful protests against the Innocence of Muslims video produced in the US.
All the major political parties and religious groups announced protests, as did many trade and transport organisations. Large crowds were expected to turn out after Friday prayers. The previous day, the US embassy became the latest target of protesters angry at the YouTube video. The total number of protesters touched 5,000 with the arrival of protesters carrying the flags of anti-American Islamist groups. At least 50 people were injured as police fired tear gas and live rounds towards the crowds. US launches PR blitz Against this tense backdrop, the US has bought time on Pakistani television stations to run a series of ads in an effort to assuage Muslim feelings of hurt. The US hopes the ad would show that the country had no involvement with the controversial internet video. The US embassy in Islamabad spent about $70,000 to run the announcement, which features clips of Barack Obama, the US president, and Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, underscoring US respect for religion and declaring the US government had nothing to do with the video.
Clinton then says: "Let me state very clearly, the United States has absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its contents. America's commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation." "In order to ensure we reached the largest number of Pakistanis, some 90 million as I understand it in this case with these spots, it was the judgment that this was the best way to do it." Addressing a media briefing on the ad campaign, Victoria Nuland, state department spokeswoman, said the aim was "to make sure that the Pakistani people hear the president's messages and the secretary's messages".
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