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Egyptians angry at film scale U.S. embassy walls
 This happened mid-day yesterday and so may be old news, but I'm posting a truncated version of the story for those of you who missed it.CAIRO - Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy on Tuesday, tore down the American flag and burned it during a protest over what they said was a film being produced in the United States that insulted Prophet Mohammad. In place of the U.S. flag, the protesters tried to raise a black flag with the words "There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger", a Reuters witness said. Once the U.S. flag was hauled down, some protesters tore it up and showed off pieces to television cameras. Others burned the remains outside the fortress-like embassy building in central Cairo. But some protesters objected to the flag burning. Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet to be offensive. Strangely, the great, great majority of Christians manage not to riot when some lamebrain creates a painting of a crucifix in a jug of urine... "This movie must be banned immediately and an apology should be made," said 19-year-old Ismail Mahmoud, a member of the so-called "ultras" soccer supporters who played a big role in the uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak last year. Apology delivered by our Cairo embassy weenies. They should be condemned ... to remain in Cairo... He called on President Mohamed Mursi, Egypt's first civilian president and an Islamist, to take action, without giving details of the film that angered him or other protesters. About 20 people stood on top of the embassy wall, while about 2,000 protesters gathered outside. The demonstrators were mainly supporters of Islamist groups or "ultras" youths. Washington has a big mission in Egypt, partly because of a huge aid programme that followed Egypt's signing of a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The United States gives $1.3 billion to Egypt's military each year and offers the nation other aid. How about giving nothing further until Mursi personally hands our ambassador a replacement flag? U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in Washington said the wall was breached and the flag removed. "We are obviously working with Egyptian security to try to restore order at the embassy and to work with them to try to get the situation under control," she said. Following the protest, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said it was committed to giving all embassies the necessary protection. The U.S. embassy had put out a statement earlier on Tuesday condemning "misguided individuals" who hurt the religious feelings of Muslims or followers of other religions. "We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others," the U.S. embassy said in its statement. Pure Obama -- we're always the ones who are wrong. His father and mentors must be proud.
Posted by: Steve White 2012-09-12 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=351848 |