The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s top Christian and Muslim religious leaders condemned Thursday a U.S.-made film insulting Prophet Mohammed, with the country’s grand mufti accusing Washington of irresponsibility while the Maronite patriarch said the film should be withdrawn.
Lebanese political figures also denounced the film titled “Innocence of Muslims,” which has led to widespread anger in the Middle East and by Muslims in different parts of the world.
“The United States of America, one of the strongest nations in the world that is trying to extend its influence in the entire world, cannot be unaware of the repercussions of the production of this film or its impact on religion and humanity in the world,” Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said.
“Hence, it would not be acceptable for the U.S. to evade its responsibilities toward the release of this film, holding accountable those standing behind this odious act, and to ensure the non-recurrence of such abuses,” he added in a statement.
Qabbani called on all Lebanese, Christians and Muslims, to “unite and stand hand in hand and urge the Lebanese state to take diplomatic measures and launch efforts at the international [level] on behalf of Muslims and Christians toward the United States, the country that fostered the production of this film.”
For his part, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai blasted as “shameful” the film that was deemed offensive to Islam and sparked deadly anti-U.S. protests in several Middle Eastern countries, including Libya and Egypt.
“The film is not only offensive to Muslims, but to all religions,” Rai said during a news conference in Bkirki, seat of the Maronite Church.
Calling the film a “cancer,” the patriarch said Innocence of Muslims is an “attack on all religions.”
“We strongly call for the film to be withdrawn,” Rai added.
The film claims Muslim Prophet Mohammad was a fraud and depicts as a feckless philanderer who approved of child sexual abuse, among other overtly insulting claims that have caused outrage.
The patriarch also voiced regret over the death of individuals during protests that broke out in Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Sudan and Morocco over the low-budget film which ridicules the Prophet Mohammad.
Vice President of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan also criticized the film as a “significant abuse of Islam and Muslims.”
The film reflects a “deep hatred” by those who produced the film toward Islam and its values, he said.
Qabalan said he believed the best response would be by “boosting Muslim-Christian ties to avert strife.”
The head of Lebanon’s opposition, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, also condemned the “suspicious attempts” behind the “Innocence of Muslims” as well as deadly attacks that were touched off by the film.
The film, he said, ignites “hatred and discord between religions and peoples at a time when we are working to build bridges of dialogue, understanding and mutual respect.”
Hariri also denounced the “violent reactions” against the film, the killing of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and the attacks that targeted U.S. embassies and consulates in Yemen, Egypt and Libya.
For his part, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed the need to respect all religions.
He underlined the need not to “defame religions which could turn cultural interaction among people to collision.”
For his part, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the film “aimed at provoking strife and unrest as well as killing innocent people.”
The Amal Movement held the U.S. administration responsible for not setting limits on the production company for the “seditious movie attacking Islam and the Prophet.”
“Having a hundred Jewish capitalists who funded the film and an American-Israeli executive directing it assures that the Zionist-American forces are behind this heinous act,” a statement by the Amal movement said.
The statement added that the movie was an attempt to incite religious tensions and distort the image of the Prophet Mohammad.
It warned the “Islamic nation” to beware of Western designs to discredit their beliefs and culture.
President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati also condemned the anti-Islam movie.
The president also denounced the violent reactions, “which were no less offending than the abhorrent movie itself,” according to the National News Agency.
In a Twitter post, Mikati denounced the film, saying it “insulted” the image of the Prophet Mohammad.
The prime minister also condemned the “bloody reactions” of Muslim mobs, adding that “it was not the correct way to defend the values of Islam.”
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