Protestors In Egypt Scale US Embassy Walls, Tear Down American Flag

Islamist demonstrators in Cairo, Egypt climbed the walls of the US Embassy today, tearing down the American flag in a protest against an anti-Muhammad video that they think came from us.

Hundreds of ultraconservative protestors were incensed over a video that attacks Islam’s prophet Muhammad, and marched to the embassy in downtown Cairo, chanting against the movie outside the embassy walls. The film, which was reportedly produced in the United States, angered the protestors so much that dozens of them scaled the embassy walls, and took down the American flag from a pole. They replaced it with a black flag bearing a Muslim declaration of faith: “There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet,” (the flag is similar to one used by Al Qaeda, notes the AP).

The video that sparked the outrage argues that Muhammad is a fraud, and shows him engaging in sexual intercourse and encouraging mass murder. Though it is unknown at this time who made it, several anti-Islam outlets and figures are promoting it, including Morris Sadek, an Egyptian-born Christian in the US, who is getting the film attention through his website. He said the video “explains the problems of the Copts who suffer from Muslims,” blaming the Koran specifically.

The Egyptian media has been reporting on the video for days, blaming Sadek for it, and ultraconservative clerics have gone on the air to denounce the film. Coptic Christians in the area have attempted to distance themselves from Sadek and the film. “He is an extremist… We don’t go down this road. He has incited the people (in Egypt) against Copts,” said Medhat Klada, a representative of Coptic Christian organizations in Europe. “We refuse any attacks on religions because of a moral position.”

What do you think of the Islamist protest at the US Embassy in Egypt? In the words of one of the protestors, is it a “very simple reaction to harming our prophet,” or is it genuinely frightening? Sound off!