Reuters/AgenciesSaudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, yesterday denounced attacks on diplomats and embassies as un-Islamic after deadly protests against a US-made film denigrating Prophet Muhammad. Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheikh also called on governments and international bodies to criminalise insults against prophets and excoriated the film that has prompted a wave of fury across the Middle East. “It is forbidden to punish the innocent for the wicked crimes of the guilty, or to attack those who have been granted protection of their lives and property, or to expose public buildings to fire or destruction,” he said in a speech carried by state news agency SPA. Describing the release of the crudely made short film as “miserable” and “criminal”, he added that attacks on the innocent and diplomats “are also a distortion of the Islamic religion and are not accepted by God”. He said those promoting the film wished to “turn Muslims away from their goals, which are building their countries, reinforcing their unity and the pursuit of development”. “The best response for Muslims to such attacks is to get on with developing and building their countries,” he said. At least nine people were killed after noon prayers on Friday in demonstrations across the Middle East. Washington sent extra troops to guard its embassies after the US ambassador and three other Americans were killed in an attack on a US mission in Libya on Tuesday. The violence spread to Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere. Al al-Sheikh’s statement echoed the official position taken by Saudi Arabia on Thursday, condemning both the film and attacks on US embassies. Egypt’s top Muslim cleric yesterday called for an international ban on all forms of attacks against Islam. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, grand imam of Cairo’s Al Azhar, the highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, underlined “the need for an international resolution (banning) any attack on Muslim religious symbols”, in a statement addressed to UN leader Ban Ki-moon and published by official news agency Mena. The resolution should “criminalise attacks on Islamic symbols and on those of other religions, after the violence against those who provoked challenges to world peace and international security,” said Tayyeb. The imam said it was the UN’s responsibility to “protect world peace from any threat or aggression”, so that “these dangerous events cannot recur”.He also called on “Egyptians in these trying times (to show) wisdom and restraint”, condemning the targeting of innocent people and underlining the need to protect foreign diplomatic missions.