Hundreds of protesters converged upon a US military base in Afghanistan early Monday morning, throwing rocks and burning at least one car. The crowd was reportedly upset about the Innocence of Muslims film which ridiculed the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, USA Today reports. The low-budget movie allegedly depicts Muhammad as a womanizer, a fraud, and a child molester.
During the early morning hours, men threw rocks comprised of cracked pieces of pavement at Camp Phoenix. The US military base is adjacent to a roadway. Preliminary reports indicate that 20 police officers were injured slightly when hit by the rocks, WTSP notes. Shouts of “Death to America” and “Death to those people who have made a film and insulted our prophet” were reportedly voiced by approximately 800 Afghans who assembled near Camp Phoenix.
Police officers fired their weapons into the crowd to deter the protesters from moving toward government buildings in the downtown area. The air around Jalalabad Road in Kabul was thick with smoke after Afghan demonstrators allegedly burnt tires and shipping containers. As the Jalalabad confrontation wound down, rallies emerged on the southeastern section of Kabul. Approximately 50 people gathered in front a mosque and once again shouted, “Death to America.”
As The Inquisitr previously reported, Google, YouTube’s parent company, refused a White House request to remove the 14-minute movie trailer from its video sharing site. Google determined that Innocence of Muslims does not violate the posted terms of service regarding hate speech. The company has temporarily restricted access to the film trailer in some Middle East countries due to “sensitive situations” reportedly prompted by the film.