Egypt’s Islamists Call For Friday Protest Over Film

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, whose political party propelled the nation’s president to power, called for a nationwide peaceful demonstration on Friday to condemn insults to Prophet Mohammad, a senior official said on Wednesday on the group’s website.

The statement followed a protest in Cairo on Tuesday in which some demonstrators scaled the U.S. embassy walls and tore down the American flag over a film they blamed on the United States. The Egyptian government called the assault unjustified and said the U.S. government could not be held responsible.

In Libya, Islamist gunmen killed the U.S. ambassador in an attack on the Benghazi consulate prompted by the film.

Brotherhood secretary-general Mahmoud Hussein called for a “peaceful protest to condemn insults to religious convictions and insults to the Prophet”, adding it would start after noon prayers on Friday in front of main mosques across Egypt.

The group called for all Egyptian groups to join in. President Mohammad Morsi rose to power through the Brotherhood, although he formally resigned from the group on taking office.

The Salafi Call, an influential group of ultra-orthodox Salafi Muslim sheikhs, called for “suspending any cooperation between the two countries until (the U.S. government) takes practical measures to stop this farce,” it said in a statement.

Reuters