AP: Anti-Muslim filmmaker in hiding after protests
An Egyptian man chants slogans during a demonstration in front of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo Sept. 12, 2012. / AP Photo
Updated at 11:56 a.m. ET
(CBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - A California-based filmmaker went into hiding after a YouTube trailer of his movie attacking Islam's prophet Muhammad sparked angry assaults by ultra-conservative Muslims on U.S. missions in Egypt and Libya. The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three American members of his staff were killed.
CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports from the Pentagon that U.S. officials do not believe Tuesday's killings were the work of the mob. Instead, the officials believe that within that mob were heavily armed militants who were using the demonstration as a cover to get into the U.S. Consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi and then take as much revenge as they could on Americans.
Whether the militants were seeking revenge for the film or they were simply trying to kill Americans on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is still unclear, Martin reports.
Speaking by phone Tuesday from an undisclosed location, writer and director Sam Bacile remained defiant, saying Islam is a cancer and that the 56-year-old intended his film to be a provocative political statement condemning the religion.
Libyan officials said Wednesday that Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed Tuesday night when he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff as the building came under attack by a mob firing machine guns and rocket propelled grenades.
U.S. Ambassador, 3 others killed in Libya
Obama on Libya attack: "Justice will be done"
Libya doctor: U.S. ambassador died of asphyxia
Bacile said he is a real estate developer and an Israeli Jew. But Israeli officials said they had not heard of him and there was no record of him being a citizen. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to share personal information with the media.
In Egypt, protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and replaced an American flag with an Islamic banner.
"This is a political movie," Bacile told the AP. "The U.S. lost a lot of money and a lot of people in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we're fighting with ideas."
Bacile said he believes the movie will help his native land by exposing Islam's flaws to the world.
"Islam is a cancer, period," he said repeatedly, his solemn voice thickly accented.
The two-hour movie, "Innocence of Muslims," cost $5 million to make and was financed with the help of more than 100 Jewish donors, said Bacile, who wrote and directed it.
The film claims Muhammad was a fraud. The 14-minute trailer of the movie that reportedly set off the protests, posted on the website YouTube in an original English version and another dubbed into Egyptian Arabic, shows an amateur cast performing a wooden dialogue of insults disguised as revelations about Muhammad, whose obedient followers are presented as a cadre of goons.
It depicts Muhammad as a feckless philanderer who approved of child sexual abuse, among other overtly insulting claims that have caused outrage.
Muslims find it offensive to depict Muhammad in any manner, let alone insult the prophet. A Danish newspaper's 2005 publication of 12 caricatures of the prophet triggered riots in many Muslim countries.
Though Bacile was apologetic about the American who was killed as a result of the outrage over his film, he blamed lax embassy security and the perpetrators of the violence.
"I feel the security system (at the embassies) is no good," said Bacile. "America should do something to change it."
A consultant on the film, Steve Klein, said the filmmaker is concerned for family members who live in Egypt. Bacile declined to confirm.
Klein said he vowed to help Bacile make the movie but warned him that "you're going to be the next Theo van Gogh." Van Gogh was a Dutch filmmaker killed by a Muslim extremist in 2004 after making a film that was perceived as insulting to Islam.
"We went into this knowing this was probably going to happen," Klein said.
Bacile's film was dubbed into Egyptian Arabic by someone he doesn't know, but he speaks enough Arabic to confirm that the translation is accurate. It was made in three months in the summer of 2011, with 59 actors and about 45 people behind the camera.
The full film has been shown once, to a mostly empty theater in Hollywood earlier this year, said Bacile.
Popular on CBSNews.com
- Children rescued from two elementary schools in Oklahoma 19 Photos
- Tornado's destructive path 17 Photos
- Oklahoma tornado victim search efforts winding down
- Oklahoma tornado recovery grinds on amid grim scenes 178 Comments
- Deadliest U.S. tornadoes 10 Photos
- More severe weather expected after monster tornado
- Up-close video of Moore, Okla., tornado Play Video
- Oklahoma tornado as seen by storm chasers Play Video
Please read before pulling a Romney again & spout off statements that aren't true.
Before you all get your panties in a bunch (and there's WAY TOO many here to name individually) how about going and reading the Article that the AP just sent about 45 minutes ago. Read about how your "hero's" name is really Nakowa Basseley Nakoula (good American name-ha)& how he tricked then edited the whole production, read it from the words of Steve Klein who was his 'advisor' on the film & a fellow Coptic Christian Activist. Read how the Coptic Orthodox Church in California is even denouncing his actions. And frankly no one knows actually where he's from--first he claims to Jewish/Israeli, then says he's Israeli/American, then told people he's Egyptian. You guys really grabbed onto a falling star here haven't you? And that's leaving out the facts of this countries own Hate Violence & on it's own countrymen. The South hang those Blacks for no other reason than Hate & it's still alive & well with your KKK brothers. The Militias right here in America preparing to overthrow the government & give the USA back to the "Whites"--SRSLY?! The USA wasn't the whites to begin with, so if want all these 'aliens', that their ancestors weren't born here, then you better pack your bags as well.
And if any of you have bothered to read ANY news today, you would also find that Romney released a statement BEFORE all was known so he could jump on his bandwagon about Obama's so-called sympathy for those murderers. Even after news started coming in about the American deaths he was still on his rampage about Obama. How about some compassion for the ones killed Romney? Even Lyin' Ryan made his statement about the attacks & NOT about using their deaths for his own political agenda. SHAME ON YOU ROMNEY & SHAME ON ALL YOU HERE TO USE THIS HORRIFIC ACT TO JUSTIFY YOUR HATRED! May GOD have Mercy on all your Souls!
Yes We judge you by your behavior. For the most ridiculous 'offense' against your prophet (FALSE PROPHET) you riot by the millions and demand blood.
A real religion of peace to envy - in a pigs eye.
The Hillary Clinton/Barrack Obama "student revolution" has come back to bite them and their complicity in the "Arab Spring" they so carefully orchestrated is undeniable and has turned out to be more like "springtime for Hitler".
Obama even being considered for a second term is a symptom of a VERY sick nation. What the hell did you think you were going to get by electing a "rock star"?
We need a leader of impeccable credentials and character, Mitt Romney is that man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LoBwR9KEGUc
Yes I agree this was a terrible result.
But one could say that with just about anything. The movie massacre in Aurora, CO. Did you see any violence after the fact as a result? Did they stop making movies? No because we are civilized and value life. Unlike the people that murdered our embassy representitives!
We are worlds apart from them, and I for one will not walk on eggshells so I don't p i s s them off!
Let me also remind you, America is no peace heaven. Remember riots after Rodney King trial. We lose power for few hours, stores get robbed, and riots start to take place. Emotions run very high here in this country. In fact we America has the worst police system when it comes to protecting minorities. FBI had known for long time that someone was going to shoot people in Wisconsin and still did nothing. That was not even a riot. It was a calculated killing of innocent people just worshiping in their temple. People in America especially hardcore Christians are as backward as Taliban.
His record is a failure:
Obama: "we tried our plan and it worked". 7/252012
The results:
23 million unemployed
43 straight months of 8+% unemployment
45 million on food stamps
Black poverty at record highs
The middle class has lost 40% of its net worth under Obama
Black youth unemployment over 50%
Hispanic unemployment at 11.3%
Food prices up 15% under Obama
Gas prices doubled under Obama
Obama has the worst job creation record since 1945 (BLS)
Obama recovery the worst in 75 years
Median household income $4,300 declines under Obama
Average family health insurance up $1,500 under Obama
Added $6 trillion to our debt...more than all Prezs. Combined
Presided over only US credit downgrade
If it worked, how come so many Americans are hurting?
Vote Obama the Fraud out in Nov.