Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah calls for more Muslim protests over anti-Islamic film

GlobalPost

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, the Shia Muslim militant group, has called for fresh protests in Lebanon over a US-produced deemed anti-Islamic.

The BBC quoted Nasrallah as saying Muslims "would not be silent in the face of this insult."

Worldwide, hundreds of people have been injured in clashes with police over the film "Innocence of Muslims," which the BBC said depicted the Prophet Muhammad "as a power-hungry and foolish man, and includes scenes of him having sex with his wife Khadija and other women."

The broadcaster described the film as "obscure" and "poorly-made."

However, US diplomatic missions in Pakistan, Egypt, Yemen and Libya have been attacked by outraged Muslims, and about 20 people killed, including the US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens.

Nasrallah's call for renewed protest came hours after Pope Benedict XVI left Lebanon, Agence France-Presse noted, adding that the pope called on Middle East leaders to promote peace and reconciliation.

"The whole world needs to see your anger on your faces, in your fists and your shouts," AFP quoted Nasrallah as saying in a televised speech.

He called for organized protests in majority Shia areas across Lebanon, and urged Muslims across the world to demonstrate against the film, which he described as "the worst attack ever on Islam, worse than the 'Satanic Verses' by Salman Rushdie, the burning of the Koran in Afghanistan and the cartoons in the European media."

He also reportedly said:

"There should be resolutions adopted in top international institutions, that are binding on all states and governments in the world, to forbid the defamation of religions... Those who write or draw or make such a film would know that they would be punished wherever they are, and they would not feel protected."

Nasrallah said the US needed to be held accountable for the film and for creating "strife" between Muslims and Christians.

The Jerusalem Post warned that Nasrallah had the ability to incite huge numbers of Shia Muslims, and that he commanded the biggest armed force in Lebanon.

He also had the backing of Shia Iran, the Post wrote.

AFP wrote that "Innocence of Muslims" also portrayed Muslims as gratuitously violent.

More from GlobalPost: Hezbollah threatens to make life 'hell' for Israel

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