Islamists seek global ban on blasphemy

Islamists in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi yesterday demanded an international law banning blasphemy during a protest against a US-made film deemed insulting to Islam. Several thousands of people gathered in a central neighbourhood, carrying placards reading: “Disrespect to Prophet Muhammad cannot be tolerated.” Prominent cleric Mufti Muneebur Rehman called for punishing Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the Coptic Christian behind the anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims. “Our demand is that an international law must be passed to prevent the menace of blasphemy,” Rehman said, as the audience shouted anti-US slogans. Pakistani authorities allowed the protest to take place after assurances by Islamist groups that the demonstration would be peaceful. The protesters, who included activists from the hardline ‘Sunni Tehreek’, wore green and white headbands as they marched through the city’s main MA Jinnah Road while some trampled on the American flag. They chanted slogans including “Hang the American film maker” and “We are ready to sacrifice our lives for the honour of Prophet Muhammad”. Shafiq Ahmad, a senior police officer in Karachi, said there were “at least 15,000” protesters while rally organisers claimed “millions of people” participated. Police beefed up security before the rally, while paramilitary forces were also deployed. The crudely-made Innocence of Muslims movie has sparked angry and at times violent demonstrations across the globe. Pakistan experienced the worst of the violence last Friday when nationwide rallies mobilised more than 45,000, many members of right-wing religious parties. At least 21 people were killed and 229 wounded, mainly in clashes with police. Meanwhile, Nakoula Basseley has been ordered held without bond over accusations he violated his probation linked to a prior conviction for bank fraud. Nakoula Basseley has been under investigation by probation officials looking into whether he violated the terms of his 2011 release from prison while making the film. As a condition of his release, he has been barred from accessing the Internet or using aliases without the permission of a probation officer, court records show. In ordering him held, a federal judge in Los Angeles cited a pattern of deception and said he was a possible flight risk.Nakoula has stayed out of the public eye for much of the past two weeks, amid outrage in Muslim countries over the film. Last week, Pakistani Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour offered $100,000 to anyone who kills the maker of the video. The Pakistani prime minister’s office later distanced itself from the railways minister’s statement. Nakoula’s attorney, Steve Seiden, said on Thursday he was “extremely concerned for (Nakoula’s) safety,” suggesting he might not be safe in federal prison in Los Angeles because of the presence of Muslim prisoners there. Prosecutors countered that Nakoula would actually be safer in custody than on the outside.In a related development, a planned meeting between US and Pakistani military chiefs was postponed this week due to a wave of violent anti-American protests, the top-ranking US officer, General Martin Dempsey, said . Dempsey revealed at a news conference that he had scheduled a discreet trip to Pakistan to meet chief of the army staff, General Ashfaq Kayani, but the two agreed to call off the talks amid unrest on the streets of Pakistani cities. “I was originally planned to go to Pakistan to meet with General Kayani, and because of some of the issues related to that film, he and I discussed postponing that visit,” said Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.