Pakistan hit by deadly riots over anti-Muslim film
U.S. officials have tried to explain to the Muslim world how they strongly disagree with the anti-Islam film but have no ability to block it because of free speech guarantees.
Khar, the foreign minister, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday that declaring a national holiday for Friday would motivate the peaceful majority to demonstrate their love for the prophet and not allow extremists to turn it into a show of anti-American anger.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik defended the decision, saying the holiday made it easier for police to tackle protesters in Islamabad because the city was empty of people who normally commute there to go to work or school.
But Riffat Hussain, a professor at the Islamabad-based National Defense University, said the government mismanaged the situation by calling for people to demonstrate and not providing a venue to do so peacefully, such as a rally with religious and political leaders.
"The government thought that they were guiding the public sentiment," Hussain said. "In doing that they lost control."
In an interview with CBS News' Pamela Falk, Pakistani U.N. Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon said that if the U.S. wants to stop the attacks against American embassies, "just lay off our Prophet, just lay off our Prophet. Is that too much to ask?"
"Is what happened in Pakistan a manifestation of the people of Pakistan? Yes. Of the government of Pakistan? No," Haroon said. "If the government of Pakistan was acquiescent of what is happening in Pakistan [the violence], they wouldn't be firing teargas and bullets at the protestors."
Pakistan diplomat to U.S.: "Lay off our Prophet"
Flash Points: Attack in Benghazi and Middle East protests
In the latest edition of "Flash Points," CBS News senior national security analyst Juan Zarate and correspondent Bob Orr discuss the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and the continuing anti-American protests throughout the Muslim world.
Elsewhere on Friday, about 3,000 protesters in the southern Iraq city of Basra condemned the film and caricatures of the prophet that were published in a French satirical weekly. They burned Israeli and U.S. flags and raised a banner that read: "We condemn the offenses made against the prophet."
On Friday, Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem apologized to Secretary of State Clinton for protesters storming the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia last week, offered condolences for the loss of American lives at the hands of extremists in Libya and emphasized the Tunisian government's dedication to protecting U.S. personnel working in his country.
Clinton called for government leaders worldwide to reject violence and uphold consequences for those responsible for attacks.
"Those extremists - not only in Tunisia, but in too many places around the world - look for the opportunities to exploit this current situation or other situations, and all people and leaders must stand against them," she said.
U.S. flags and effigies of Obama were burned by about 2,000 people in a protest following Friday prayers in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. They demanded that the United States ban the film.
In Bangladesh, more than 2,000 people marched in the capital, Dhaka, and burned a makeshift coffin draped in an American flag with an effigy of Obama. Small and mostly orderly protests were also held in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Tens of thousands of supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah movement held a raucous protest in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek. Later, a few thousand supporters of a hard-line Sunni cleric gathered in the capital, Beirut. Both demonstrations directed outrage at the U.S. and Israel over what they believed was a grave insult to Muhammad.
Police clamped a daylong curfew in parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir's main city of Srinagar and chased away protesters opposing the anti-Islam film. Authorities in the region also temporarily blocked cellphone and Internet services to prevent viewing the film clips.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at the West over the film and the caricatures in the French weekly, Charlie Hebdo.
"In return for (allowing) the ugliest insults to the divine messenger, they -- the West -- raise the slogan of respect for freedom of speech," Ahmadinejad said at a speech in Tehran. He said this explanation was "clearly a deception."
In Germany, the Interior Ministry said it was postponing a poster campaign aimed at countering radical Islam among young people due to tensions caused by the online video.
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People in those societies do not have power in terms of sending drones, F16, ultra tech killing machines to seek "justice" for their loved ones destroyed by the same killing machines sent towards them. So, they take the rage on anything symbolic representing the oppressor/savage power. That's a bargain given what they are going thru in terms of life and limbs.
They have spoken peacefully again and again thru polls and thru their parliament to stop meddling in their countries, to stop aerial attacks and drone strikes on them; but peaceful protest have done nothing. Drone strikes are ever increasing showing arrogance of might is right. Thus, it has become even more personal to all people that they are being violated even when they have spoken against attacking their people/land/homes. Thus, those people have no choice left to take out their anger through violence against anything symbolic to those barbarians.
A foreign power is constantly killing their own kind, so it is only natural that they feel being personally attacked for who they are. Thus, they feel belittled, humiliated and dishonored. In Contrast to people in western societies (except immigrants from other cultures), people in those 80% of the world, muslim and non-muslims alike, have personal respect, honor; and take their life and liberty seriously; and I mean seriously as in giving even their lives for it. That is in sharp contrast to western mind and body that live in fear of itch on their wrist, let alone fear of death. Hence, there is an outpouring of unison among them for a common cause and grievance.
Their govt. can not do anything; they can not go to any court to seek justice. A people in power countries can mobilize their govt killing machines to find "justice" for them thousand miles away, and/or they could go to court to file for damages. Well! Those people do not have that luxury-they are not sitting behind fortified castle protected by ultra-tech machinery; so you can not expect from them the same humble reaction as yours or a noble civilized mannerism. They have been already labelled as "lowly" so they have nothing more to lose.
Similarly, rationalizing barbaric and savage attacks killing other people for some noble cause (declaring anyone terrorist out to get them, and/or "bad guys" being harbored, so you deserve to die etc etc etc) may help power minds sleep better tonight, does not sit well with people on other side of the story. They feel violated and have seen disfigured, mutilated, burned bodies of their loved ones and of their own kind, all at the hands of foreign barbaric and savage powers. While watching on television images of throwing stones may seem uncivilized for a western mind, seeing enormous /cluster/bomb shelling and ultra-tech missiles on mud houses on unsuspecting "enemies" is surely savage and barbaric at firsthand.
Certainly, people of powers will be out in streets with their panties up in the air, calling for annihilation of Mexico if Mexico drones were striking drug dealers and addicts living amongst in apt. buildings. (that wouldn't be any different from what powers are doing in other countries unilaterally ie. declaring indigenous people of other cultures who do not agree with them "enemies" and attacking their supposed hideouts in their indigenous lands-what could be worse than that)
RUBBISH!! The US, Israel, Jews everywhere , British and Europeans have put up with 40+ years of cowardly Islamic terrorism, from the attacks on Israel since it's founding, to the '72 Munich Olympic murders, taking hostages in Tehran in '79. ONLY targeting civilians. From hostages taken in Lebanon in the 1980's, Lockerbie bombing to 9-11, 7-7 in London, 11-26 in Mumbai, 3-11 Madrid-if you try to declare war by ONLY killing innocent people who have nothing to do with what their governments do, then prepare for those same nations to use their funds & power to keep up the fight against a "culture" who teaches hatred and murder of those who don't believe in it's "prophet" !!
that stupid movie piece wasn't a product of any government.
It was done by someone with a good reason to hate islam.
His religion is under attack by islam.
I agree too, Mohammad was a womanizer, molester posing as a man of god.
Islam invaded Israel, not the other way around.
Islam invaded europe, before driven back.
Christian religious fanatics made the anti-Muhammad. Muslim religious fanatics routinely kill Christians in Pakistan or falsely acccuse them of some crime against Islam which results in long prison terms or a death sentence. Recently I read of a very unusual case in which a Christian female aged about 12 was accused of some crime against Islam, possibly destroying a Qu'ran or misusing it in some way -- a popular accusation against Christians, but the case against her was dismissed because the judge believed she was incapable of committing the crime. There was a suggestion that the judge believed she was mentally deficient. I also recently read of the arrest of a Muslim cleric for falsely accusing a Christian of some crime against Islam. This is extremely unusual. In the past two years a Pakistani politician who took up the defense of a woman whom he thought was falsely accused of a crime against Islam was killed by a Muslim religious fanatic who was supposed to be his bodyguard. There is also sectarian violence against other religious minorities, Shiites and other small Muslim sects, whom the Sunni majority do not consider to be Muslims."The Innocence of Muslims" is small potatoes in comparison to what Muslims do to Christians in Pakistan.
"Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012/09/21/libyans-storm-militia-in-backlash-of-attack-on-us/57821580/1