Innocence of Muslims

"Innocence of Muslims" (also known as Muhammad Movie Trailer and The Real Life of Muhammad) is an anti-Islam video reported to have been written and produced by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, using the pseudonym of "Sam Bacile". While he initially denied being the controversial figure, records uncovered by the Associated Press and confirmed by American federal authorites established Nakoula as the same person as Sam Bacile. Nakoula claimed that he was creating an epic, two hour film, however no such film has been located.

The video clips were initially uploaded to YouTube in July 2012, under the titles The Real Life of Muhammad and Muhammad Movie Trailer. Videos dubbed in the Arabic language were uploaded during early September 2012, and were promoted by Morris Sadek by email and on the blog of the National American Coptic Assembly. On September 9, 2012, an excerpt of the YouTube video was broadcast on Al-Nas TV, an Egyptian Islamist television station. Demonstrations and violent protests against the film broke out on September 11 in Egypt and Libya, and spread to other Arab and Muslim nations and some western countries. According to U.S. and Libyan officials, an armed attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012 that resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, may have been a pre-planned attack unrelated to the videos.

According to a self-described consultant on the project, the videos are "trailers" from a full-length film which was shown only once, to an audience of fewer than ten people, at a rented theater in Hollywood, California. Posters advertising the film used the title Innocence of Bn Laden. The film's original working title was Desert Warrior, and it told the story of "tribal battles prompted by the arrival of a comet on Earth." Though the story had no religious references, anti-Islamic content was added post production by overdubbing, reportedly without the actors' knowledge.

Plot and production

The video first portrays present-day Egyptian Muslims attacking Egyptian Christians and burning their homes while Egyptian Muslim security forces stand idle. Hiding from the attack, a doctor and his family take shelter in their home. The doctor then takes up a pen and writes a formula on a whiteboard saying that "Man + X = BT" (where "BT" is overdubbed as "Islamic terrorists"). When asked by a young woman what "X" is, he tells her that she needs to discover that for herself. The rest of the video depicts scenes featuring the main character who is referred to as the Prophet Muhammad by overdubbing. In one scene, Muhammad's wife, Khadija, suggests that the Quran should be written by mixing parts of the Torah and the New Testament into false verses. In another scene, Muhammad calls a donkey "the first Muslim animal". Most references to Islam appear to have been overdubbed.

In a statement obtained by CNN, the film's 80 cast and crew members disavowed the film, saying: "The entire cast and crew are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer. We are 100% not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose." It further explained, "We are shocked by the drastic re-writes of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred." Cindy Lee Garcia, who in the YouTube trailer appears to be playing the mother of Muhammad's bride-to-be, said the script was for a movie about life in Egypt 2,000 years ago, called Desert Warrior (and possibly also Desert Storm), and that the character "Muhammad" was referred to as "Master George" on set. Garcia stated it makes her "sick" that she was involved in the film and that she is considering legal action against "Bacile." Another actress, Lily Dionne, told CNN that she and several other actors were brought in to overdub some lines. According to Dionne, they were told to say specific words, such as "Muhammad." Earlier, Sarah Abdurrahman, a producer for WNYC's On the Media program, watched the trailer and concluded that all of the religious references had indeed been overdubbed after filming. The independent film was directed by a person first identified in casting calls as Alan Roberts, whose original cut did not include references to Muhammad or Islam.

American non-profit Media for Christ obtained film permits to shoot the movie in August 2011, and Nakoula provided his home as a set and paid the actors, according to government officials and those involved in the production. Media for Christ president Joseph Nassralla Abdelmasih claimed that Nakoula used Media for Christ's name without his knowledge and edited the film afterwards without Media's involvement. Steve Klein, a Vietnam veteran who has been active in opposing Islam and has been associated with paramilitary style "hate groups" at his church according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, was asked by Nakoula to be the spokesman for the film. The movie's self-identified consultant, Klein, reportedly told Nakoula: "You're going to be the next Theo van Gogh." Klein later told journalist Jeffrey Goldberg that "Bacile" is not a real person and is neither Israeli nor Jewish, as has been reported, and that the name is a pseudonym for about 15 Copts and Evangelical Christians from Syria, Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt.

Nakoula, Roberts, and Nassralla reportedly went into hiding after the violent response to the film.

Identity of producer

According to Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress in the film, "Bacile" claimed to be an Israeli real estate mogul. Later, however, he told her he was Egyptian and she heard him speaking in Arabic with other men on set. Initial reports described "Sam Bacile" as a 56-year-old (52-year-old according to the Wall Street Journal) real estate developer from Israel who spoke by phone with the Associated Press. Israeli authorities found no sign of him being an Israeli citizen, and there was no indication of a 'Sam Bacile' around 50 years old living in California, having a real estate license or participating in Hollywood filmmaking. Though "Bacile" claimed the film had been made for $5 million obtained from more than 100 Jewish donors, Hollywood Reporter described the film's appearance as unprofessional, bringing this claim into doubt. According to a man who identified himself to the Wall Street Journal as Bacile, the film was produced to call attention to what he called the "hypocrisies" of Islam.

By September 13, 2012, "Sam Bacile" was identified as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a Coptic Christian immigrant from Egypt living in Cerritos, California, near Los Angeles, who has used multiple aliases in the past. In the 1990s, Nakoula served prison time for manufacturing methamphetamine. In 2010, he pleaded no contest to bank fraud and was sentenced to 21 months in prison; he was released on probation from prison in June 2011.

Authorities said Nakoula told the police that he had written the movie's script while in prison and, together with his son, raised between $50,000 and $60,000 from his wife's family in Egypt to finance the film. According to CNN, the FBI contacted him because of the potential for threats, but he is not under investigation by the FBI.

Constitutional law experts Stephen L. Carter and Floyd Abrams have each pointed out that the government cannot prosecute the producer for the film's content because of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment as invalidating government restrictions on blasphemy since 1952 and hate speech since the mid-1970s. In March 2011, the Court reiterated its position on hate speech by a 8-1 majority: "As a Nation we have chosen a different course—to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate." However, federal officials are investigating whether Nakoula violated the terms of his probation, which barred him from using the Internet for five years.

According to The Smoking Gun, Nakoula had planned to produce the film as early as May 2009, when he first took out ads for crew members. However, he was arrested on the bank fraud charges a month later; after his arrest, Nakoula cooperated with prosecution to obtain a reduced sentence.

Even after further reports confirmed that Bacile was neither Israeli nor Jewish, the Iranian state-linked Press TV cited the initial reports that Jews were responsible for the film, while Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blamed "evil Zionists" and the government of the United States for creating the film. Rabbi Abraham Cooper condemned initial reports that Bacile was Jewish and backed by Jewish donors, saying that whoever told this to the Associated Press committed a blood libel and said that the media did not thoroughly research this claim. Cooper said that to "catapult what might be a nonexistent Jewish element could lead to violence against Jews," and called on the media to learn from this incident, while investigating who exactly created the film. Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said, "We are greatly concerned that this false notion that an Israeli Jew and 100 Jewish backers were behind the film now has legs and is gathering speed around the world. In an age where conspiracy theories, especially ones of an anti-Semitic nature, explode on the Internet in a matter of minutes, it is crucial for those news organizations who initially reported on his identity to correct the record."

Screening and internet upload

Movie poster for Innocence of Bn Laden on display at the Vine Theater in June 2012. The poster reads in Arabic: "For the first time, my Muslim brother, you are about to witness the true terrorist. The terrorist who killed our children in Palestine, and our brethren in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Vine Theater, Hollywood, California, where the single screening took place

The film's screening as "Innocence of Bin Laden" was advertised in the Anaheim-based newspaper Arab World during the months of both May and June. The advertisement cost $300 to run three times in the paper and was paid by an individual identified only as "Joseph". The advertisements were noted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), whose Islamic affairs director stated, "When we saw the advertisement in the paper, we were interested in knowing if it was some kind of pro-jihadist movie." Brian Donnelly, a guide for a Los Angeles based tour of famous crime scenes who noticed the poster advertising at the Vine Theater, said, "I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. We didn't know what it was about because we can't read Arabic." The earlier version of the film was screened once at the Vine Theater of June 23, 2012 to an audience of only ten people. The film had no subtitles and was presented in English. An employee of the theater stated, "The film we screened was titled The Innocence of Bin Laden," and added that it was a "small viewing."

A second screening was planned for June 30, 2012. A local Hollywood blogger, John Walsh, attended a June 29 Los Angeles City Council meeting where he raised his concerns about the title of a film to be screened which appeared to support the leader of al-Qaeda. He said "There is an alarming event occurring in Hollywood on Saturday. A group has rented the Vine Street theater to show a video entitled Innocence of Bin Laden. We have no idea what this group is." The blog site reported that the June 30 screening had been canceled. A Current TV producer photographed the poster while it was being displayed at the theater as advertising to later discuss on the talk show The Young Turks. The poster did not denigrate Muslims, but rather referred to "my Muslim brother". In a translation provided by the ADL, the poster stated it would reveal "the real terrorist who caused the killing of our children In Palestine, and our brothers in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Two clips were posted on YouTube on July 1 titled "The Real Life of Muhammad", and "Muhammad Movie Trailer", by user "sam bacile". By September, the film had been dubbed into Arabic and was brought to the attention of the Arabic-speaking world by Coptic blogger Morris Sadek, whose Egyptian citizenship had been revoked for promoting calls for an attack on Egypt. A two-minute excerpt dubbed in Arabic was broadcast on September 9 by Sheikh Khalad Abdalla on Al-Nas, an Egyptian television station.

The film was supported by pastor Terry Jones, whose burning of copies of the Quran previously led to deadly riots around the world. On September 11, 2012, Jones said that he planned to show a 13-minute trailer that night at his church the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida. Jones said in a statement that "it is an American production, not designed to attack Muslims but to show the destructive ideology of Islam. The movie further reveals in a satirical fashion the life of Muhammad." It was reported on September 14, 2012, that a planned screening by a Hindu organization in Toronto will be coupled with "snippets from other movies that are offensive to Christians and Hindus." Because of security concerns no public venue has been willing to show the film; the group still plans on showing the film in the future to a private audience of about 200 people. Siobhán Dowling of the The Guardian reported that "a far-right Islamophobic group in Germany", the Pro Germany Citizens' Movement, has uploaded the trailer on their own website and wants to show the entire film but authorities are attempting to prevent it.

Sky News said the video was "anti-Muslim" and "designed to enrage". According to Reuters, the video portrays Muhammad as a "fool, a philanderer and a religious fake"; NBC News said the trailer depicted Muhammad "as a womanizer, a homosexual and a child abuser." Time magazine described the dialogue during the scene with a donkey as "homoerotic". According to the BBC, Muhammad's followers are portrayed as "savage killers hungry for wealth and bent on killing women and children."

The New Republic said that the film "includes not a single artistically redeemable aspect" with "atrocious" directing, "terrible" sets and acting consisting of "blank eyes and strained line readings". The New York Daily News called it an "obscenely inept vanity project" that is "far beneath any reasonable standard of movie-making." Muslim filmmaker Kamran Pasha stated, "I am of the opinion that it is a film of questionable artistic merit, backed by a group of bitter bigots whose only agenda was to incite hatred and violence by smearing the character of Prophet Muhammad." Salman Rushdie called the filmmaker "outrageous and unpleasant and disgusting", and characterized the production as "clearly a malevolent piece of garbage."

Reactions

See also: 2012 diplomatic missions attacks

Protesters in Bahrain denouncing the film

Egyptian TV host Sheikh Khaled Abdullah, in his broadcast of September 8 on Al-Nas television, criticized the film's depiction of Muhammad. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi urged the United States government to prosecute the film producers whom he referred to as "madmen". The U.S. Embassy in Cairo issued a statement condemning what it called "continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims," an apparent reference to the video.

The showings of the film's trailer resulted in massive and sometimes violent protests and deaths and hundreds of injuries in several cities in the world. The government of Pakistan declared a national holiday in honour of Prophet and called for peaceful protests against the film. On September 17, about 500,000 Lebanese protested in Beirut at a rally where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made a rare public appearance, calling for sustained protests against the film, calling the protests the "start of a serious movement in defense of the prophet." American diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut began destroying classified material as a security measure.

In Benghazi, Libya, heavily armed attackers killed the U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans on September 11. Some U.S. officials, speaking under anonymity, said that they believed the Benghazi attack was coordinated and planned in advance, and not prompted by the film. Al-Qaeda has indicated responsibility and said it was in revenge for a U.S. drone strike which killed Libyan Abu Yahya al-Libi, an al-Qaeda leader.

On September 12, YouTube announced that it had "temporarily restricted access" to the video in Egypt and Libya. Afghanistan decided to censor YouTube and President Hamid Karzai said the makers of the film committed a "devilish act". Several news services have reported that "Bacile" has gone into hiding fearing that current actions could be used as an excuse to harm him, and that he continued to defend the film. Saying he was sorry for the death of Stevens, "Bacile" blamed the consulate's security system. Klein rejected any blame for the violent reaction to the movie, saying, "Do I feel guilty that these people were incited? Guess what? I didn't incite them. They're pre-incited, they're pre-programmed to do this."

On September 18, a female suicide bomber drove a car filled with explosives into a mini-bus with foreign aviation workers in Afghanistan, killing at least nine people, reportedly including eight South Africans and a British woman and possibly also a number of Afghans . The Islamist militant group Hizb-i-Islami claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the first reported suicide bombing by a woman in the country, and said it was in response to the film. The Taliban said they attacked the British military base Camp Bastion on September 14, killing two American soldiers, in a response to the film, and later claimed the base was chosen because Prince Harry was there.

The film has been condemned by the Coptic Orthodox Christian Church. Bishop Serapion of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles said in a statement that it "rejects dragging the respectable Copts of the Diaspora in the latest production of an inflammatory movie about the prophet of Islam ... The name of our blessed parishioners should not be associated with the efforts of individuals who have ulterior motives." In addition, the World Council of Churches stated that the film was “an insult to the heart of the Muslim faith” and “to all peoples of faith.”

ADL's Abraham Foxman said, "We are greatly concerned that this false notion that an Israeli Jew and 100 Jewish backers were behind the film now has legs and is gathering speed around the world. [...] In an age where conspiracy theories, especially ones of an anti-Semitic nature, explode on the Internet in a matter of minutes, it is crucial for those news organizations who initially reported on his identity to correct the record." Foxman specifically criticized "news organizations across the Arab world and anti-Semites and anti-Israel activists" for continuing to describe the filmmaker and backers as Jewish despite the fact that no Jews were involved in the making of the film.

Africa

Nation	Cities	Information
Nigeria	Jos Sokoto Kano	Top Muslim Nigerian clerics condemned the film, but advised against demonstrations. "Such actions are orchestrated by the enemies of peace to bring about chaos which must be condemned by religious leaders all over the world". Nevertheless security forces around the country were on alert for trouble. Protests were held in Jos and Sokoto. On Sept. 22 "tens of thousands" of demonstrators led by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria in Kano.
Niger	Zinder	The Niger Islamic Council has repudiated the film that has caused mass riots and called for Christian churches to be spared in the protests. However, hundreds of protesters stormed and ransacked Catholic cathedral in Zinder and burned American and British flags. One policeman was injured and about a dozen protesters were arrested.
Somalia	Mogadishu	Nearly a thousand people protested the film in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Sudan	Khartoum	Several hundred protesters from a group called "Sudanese Youth" gathered outside of the U.S. embassy in Khartoum on September 12. The embassy met with three protesters, who delivered written demands asking for an apology and the removal of the YouTube video.

Americas

Nation	Cities	Information
Canada	Calgary Toronto	More than 100 people held demonstrations at Calgary's City Hall. Mahdi Qasqas with the Muslim Council of Calgary says that the protest does not only concern about the latest anti-Islam film. "This is not the only hate-filled, hate-speech video that’s out there — there are many," Quaqas said. "Hate is not just a phenomena [sic] that’s related to Muslims. It’s related to all minorities all non-dominant population groups and we’re here to stop all of that.” On September 22, about 1,500 held demonstrations outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto.

Asia

Nation	Cities	Information
Afghanistan	Jalalabad	A demonstration of about 1,000 people was held against the film in Jalalabad. The protesters burned an effigy of U.S. President Barack Obama.
Bangladesh	Dhaka	1,000 members of the Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan group demonstrated and attempted to march on the U.S. embassy in Dhaka, though they were stopped from approaching the embassy by police. There were no reports of violence.
India	Srinagar Chennai	Demonstrations were held in Srinagar, Kashmir, as local imams denounced the film saying "It is our right to protest against this heinous act aimed at hurting the sentiments of the Muslims. However, we should not indulge in vandalism as we will causing harm to our own property. We shall remain peaceful." During a protest started on September 14 and continued for three days, U.S. consulate at Chennai was pelted with stones breaking some window panes, allegely by members of the Islamist Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham and as a result, issuing of Visa by the consulate was cancelled for two days. Google started blocking access of the video on Youtube from Indian IP addresses at the request of the government of India. Attempts to view the video will result in the message "This content is not available in your country due to a government removal request.
Indonesia	Jakarta Medan Makassar Surabaya	An anti-American and anti-Israeli demonstration was held outsite the embassy in Jakarta by about 200 protesters.Similar protests were held in Medan, Makassar and Surabaya
Japan	Tokyo	About 300 people, with many coming from Myanmar and Pakistan, held demonstrations in the Shibuya district in Tokyo over the anti-Muslim film on September 21. The protest were originally meant to draw the attention to the condition of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar but the protests end up criticizing the United States. Organizers are planning another protests next Friday, September 28.
Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur Batu Caves Ipoh	A protest was held by a group of about 30 Muslims representing various Islamic organizations at the American embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Protests were also held at Batu Caves and in the northern city of Ipoh.
Maldives	Malé	Protests were held outside the United Nations building in the capital city of Malé in the Maldives over the anti-Islam film. About 200 to 400 protesters were present in the demonstrations. The protesters also set fire to an American flag outside the UN building.
Pakistan	Islamabad Peshawar Karachi Swat Lahore Multan	Protests were held at the U.S. embassy in Islamabad and in Peshawar, Karachi and Swat by the Jamaat-e-Islami, while demonstration were held in Lahore by the Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool and in Multan by Jamiat Talba Arbia and Shehri Mahaz. On September 13, Altaf Hussain, chief of Mutahidda Qaumi Movement, the third largest political party of Pakistan) sent a telegram to President of United States Barrack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary General of United Nations Ban Ki-moon and Secretary General of OIC Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu in which he demanded that the movie should be banned immediately as it has hurt the feelings of over one billion Muslims throughout the world. About 10,000 people protested in Lahore against the film, despite a ban on rallies. One Pakistani died from smoke inhalation eminating from burning American flags at the rally.
Philippines	Marawi	On September 15, more than 300 protesters organized in Marawi, Lanao del Sur over the film and burned American flags. There were threats to kill Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, who is believed to be behind the controversial film. American interest remained unharmed in the province. The largest Muslim insurgent group Moro Islamic Liberation Front urged Filipino Muslims not to resort to violence. More than 3,000 protesters organized another demonstrations in Marawi, Lanao del Sur over the film and burned American flags on September 17.
Singapore		On Thursday, September 20, 2012, Google started blocking access of the video on Youtube from Singaporean IP addresses at the request of the government of Singapore. Attempts to view the video will result in the message "This content is not available in your country due to a government removal request.".
Sri Lanka	Colombo	About 2,000 protesters held demonstrations near the U.S. embassy in Colombo in protest of the film on September 21. The protesters also burned effigies of U.S. President Obama and American flags as part of the protests.
Thailand	Bangkok	About 400 people held demonstrations against the film outside the U.S. embassy in Bangkok.

Europe

Nation	Cities	Information
Belgium	Antwerp	Demonstrations were held in Antwerp in response to the anti-Islam film on September 16. The protestors chanted anti-U.S. slogans and burned an American flag. The Belgian police arrested 230 people, a leader of the Islamist group Sharia4Belgium is among those arrested.
Denmark	Copenhagen	Demonstrations were held by members of Hizb ut-Tahrir in front of the U.S. embassy in Copenhagen.
Macedonia	Skopje	Over 100 protesters gathered around the city mosque in Skopje on September 21.
France	Paris	Over 100 arrested in protest of anti-Islam film outside U.S. embassy in Paris. On Saturday afternoon September 15, 2012, up to 250 protesters gathered around the U.S. embassy in Paris responding to a call put out on Facebook, police officer Pierre Coric said. In addition, the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published caricatures of Muhammad, several of which depicted him as naked, causing the French government to increase security at certain French embassies and close the embassies in about 20 countries, and riot police surrounded the offices of the magazine to protect against possible attacks. The magazine was firebombed in 2011 after an edition mocked radical Islam. The French government banned a planned protest that was due to be held on September 22 in the Grand Mosque of Paris. Violators of the ban shall spend 6 months of imprisonment and fined 700 euros.
Netherlands	Amsterdam	The American consulate in Amsterdam closed earlier than usual on September 14 in anticipation of a protest. A peaceful demonstration of around 30 people took place on the Dam Square in the center of Amsterdam. Dutch politician Geert Wilders linked the Youtube video Innocence of Muslims to his website. Shortly after it became known that Wilders had put the video online, his own website and that of the Party for Freedom became unreachable. Geert Wilders motivated his action by stating "defending freedom of expression is the greatest good. Everyone should do that as a signal that violence is not accepted and is not working."
Russia		Russia plans to block access to YouTube if Google fails to remove the film following a court order, according to Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov.
Serbia	Novi Pazar	In Novi Pazar, the Torcida Sandžak group organized a protest in the form of a public march which was attended by thousands of people. The protest was held in a peaceful manner without negative incidents.
Switzerland	Bern	Protesters organized by the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland were held in Bern on September 23. The organizer president, Nikola Blawnshow blamed U.S. officials for producing the film. He also criticized the French government for banning protests against the film while at the same time allowing Charlie Hebdo magazine, to publish cartoon depictions of Prophet Mohammad.
United Kingdom	London Birmingham Cardiff	A demonstration of 200 people gathered outside the U.S. embassy in London, burning the U.S. and Israeli flags. The Daily Mail reported Anjem Choudary was leading the flag-burning protests. No reports of violence. A smaller protest involving around 100 people was also reported in Birmingham outside the Bullring shopping centre on September 21. Around 100 Muslim protesters held a demonstration in Cardiff, displaying placards including 'USA burn in hell' and 'Islam for France'. The demonstration was organised by Abu Hajar, a member of Islamic path, a group that is listed as a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UK Home office. There were no reports of violence.

Middle East and North Africa

Nation	Cities	Information
Algeria	Kouba	A demonstration of about 60 people were held in the town of Kouba. The protesters chanted slogans praising Islam and Prophet Muhammad and rejected Islamophobia and insults to religious symbols.
Bahrain	Diraz	A demonstration of 2,000 protesters was held in Diraz, a focal point for Shiite opposition to the Sunni monarchy.
Egypt	Cairo	Protests were held in Cairo, outside the U.S. embassy. Egypt requested that the international organization Interpol issue an international wanted persons alert for eight people who were linked to the film, on charges of "harming the unity of the nation and defamation of the Islamic religion". Among those people is the controverisal pastor, Terry Jones, who allegedly helped promote the film.
Iran	Tehran	Protests occurred outside the Swiss embassy in Tehran which represents American interests in the Islamic Republic. Iranian police prevented the protesters from reaching the embassy gates, and no injuries were reported. The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the film as "an insult to sacred Muslim figures" while criticizing the response of the United States government. In response to the film, Ayatollah Hassan Sanei, the leader of the state-linked religious foundation that originally placed a bounty on Salman Rushdie's head, increased the reward by $500,000 to whoever kills Rushdie. This increases the reward to $3.3 million, despite Rushdie having nothing to do with Innoncence of Muslims and even actually condemning it.
Iraq	Sadr City Basra Najaf Hilla Samarra	Hundreds protested against the film in Baghdad's Sadr City and in Basra. A smaller crowd protested in Najaf. Protesters burned American flags, chanted "Death to America" and called on the Iraqi government to expel the American diplomats. The protests were organized by Shi'ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr and, at least in Basra, included both Sunni and Shi'ite clerics. In Hilla in the Shiite-dominated southern region, American and Israeli flags were burned. In Samarra clerics demanded a boycott of American goods.
Israel	Tel Aviv Acre	About 50 members of the Islamic Movement in Israel protested in front the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, alleging that the United States' government sponsors "little people" who hurt Islam and Muslims. There were no clashes or disturbances. In Acre, Arab protestors said that "only Islamic rule throughout the world will make peace. Jews and Christians can live without fear under the wings of Islam." Some chanted support for Osama bin Laden as well.
Jordan	Amman	In Amman, 200 Salafis demonstrated at the U.S. embassy while 1,400 Muslim Brotherhood supporters in central Amman.
Lebanon	Tripoli	Protestors torched a KFC and a Hardee's in Tripoli.
Kuwait	Kuwait City	An anti-American demonstration was held outside the U.S. embassy in Kuwait by about 200 protesters.
Mauritania	Nouakchott	Protests were held in the capital, Nouakchott.
Morocco	Casablanca Salé	Agence France Press reported that 300 to 400 protesters had gathered outside the U.S. Consulate in Casablanca on September 12, amid a heavy presence of Moroccan police. The protest was non-violent, organized via social media and did not appear to be organized by a specific group. Around 200 hardline Islamists gathered in Salé, twin town to the Moroccan capital Rabat, shouting anti-U.S. slogans and burning U.S. flags.
Oman	Muscat Salalah	About 50 protesters blockaded all roads towards the U.S. embassy in Muscat to protest against the controversial film. Protests were also held in the center of Salalah by about 50 people
Palestinian territories	Gaza Nablus	Protests were reported in the Gaza Strip as being called for by the Hamas government's Ministry of Religious Endowments in front of the Palestinian Legislative Council building in Gaza city. Dozens of Palestinians protested, while some burned American and Israeli flags, chanting, "Death to America! Death to Israel!" International agencies closed their offices in Gaza for a day as a precautionary measure. The following day, several hundred Palestinians across the Gaza strip protested the film, with Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad faction encouraging protests. In Gaza city several hundred took to the streets, burned American and Israeli flags along with an effigy of the film's producer. Several hundred people protested in Nablus in the northern West Bank and burned an American flag.
Qatar	Doha	At least 2,000 people marched towards the U.S. embassy in Doha from the Omar ibn Al-Khatab mosque alongside the Doha Expressway on September 14 denouncing the controversial film.
Saudi Arabia	Buraidah	A protest was held outside of McDonald's in Buraidah.
Syria	Damascus	A demonstration of 200 people march on the empty U.S. embassy in Damascus.
Tunisia	Tunis	Irish Times reports that 200 protesters demonstrated in front of the United States embassy in Tunis, throwing rocks, burning the American flag and chanting slogans. They were dispersed by police with teargas and rubber bullets.
Turkey	Istanbul	Hundreds gathered at Beyazit Square in Istanbul in a peaceful demonstration against the film called by the Turkish Felicity Party (aka as Saadet Party), a marginal conservative party not represented in the Turkish parliament. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on the international community to recognize Islamophobia as a crime against humanity. He also said: "Legal and peaceful protest by Muslims is a useful and correct thing; but a protest cannot envisage any kind of violence or terrorism”.
United Arab Emirates		The Telecommunication and Regulatory Authority of the UAE commanded Etisalat and Du to block the video on Youtube and mirror sites on the September 17, 2012 as a violation of cultural norms.

Oceania

Nation	City	Information
Australia	Sydney	Main article: 2012 Sydney anti-Islam film protests On September 15, 2012, up to 500 people gathered to protest the film outside the United States Consulate General in Martin Place, Sydney, New South Wales. Demonstrators, including children, carried signs with messages such as "Behead all those who insult the Prophet". Police attempted to form a line in front of the protesters however the line broke which caused the demonstration to become mobile. Police used pepper spray and deployed police dogs amid violent confrontations with protesters. Six police officers, several protesters and civilians were injured, two police vehicles were also damaged in the protest. Protesters directly attacked police by throwing projectiles and assaulting officers with banners, the latter led to one officer being knocked unconscious.

See also

2

External links

• YouTube channel of Sam Bacile with two videos apparently comprising extracts from the film, uploaded in July 2012.
• "US police quiz anti-Islam video suspect" (video) from al Jazeera's protests live blog
• IMDB page