Sam Bacile, the maker of the movie which allegedly attacks the Islam prophet Mohammad, went into hiding after the protests in Egypt and Libya. US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three Foreign Service staffers were killed when a rocket propelled grenade hit their vehicle. Protesters are allegedly upset about the film’s trailer, which was posted on YouTube, according to CNN .
Bacile addressed the press by phone from an undisclosed location on Tuesday. The 56-year-old filmmaker remained defiant in his opposition to Islam, referring to the religion as a cancer and noting his movie is intended to be a provocative political condemnation of the faith, Yahoo News reports. He also hopes the motion picture will expose what he considers Islam’s flaws to the world and help his native land in the process.
Sam Bacile had this to say about his anti-Islam movie:
“This is a political movie. The US lost a lot of money and a lot of people in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we’re fighting with ideas. Islam is a cancer, period.”
The controversial movie’s writer and director describes himself as an Israeli Jew; he is also a California real estate developer. The two-hour film is entitled Innocence of Muslims and cost $5 million to produce. Bacile claims that more than 100 Jewish donors contributed to the making of the political flick.
The US consulate in Libya burned to the ground after protestors took control of the complex, starting small fires and shooting into buildings with machine guns. Protestors in Cairo climbed over the consulate walls, tore down the American flag, and replaced it with an Islamic banner.
Update: The original photo used in this story and the current photo are simply stills from the movie and not pictures of Sam Bacile who has been in hiding.