WASHINGTON: The Israeli filmmaker who has sparked protests in Egypt and Libya, the latter of which turned violent and left the US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other staff members dead, has gone into hiding in the United States. His film attacking Islam's Prophet Mohamed left Muslims across the Islamic world angry and they demanded action from the American government over the film, which portrays the Prophet as a pedophile, promoting violence and a sex addict. Writer and director Sam Bacile told The Associated Press by phone that Islam was “a cancer” and that the film was intended to be a political comment that condemned the religion. The film was promoted and supported by members of the Jewish, Christian and Coptic Christian community based in the United States, reports in Egypt have stated. In Egypt, protesters climbed the US Embassy's wall and took down the American flag, replacing it with an Islamic flag that read: “There is no God but God and Mohamed is His Messenger." While the Egyptian protesters remained nonviolent, in Libya's Benghazi, violent attacks took place against the American consulate in the city. “This is a political movie," said Bacile. “The U.S. lost a lot of money and a lot of people in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we're fighting with ideas." Bacile, who is based in California and works as a real estate developer told the AP that he said he was an “Israeli Jew” and hoped the film would “expose” Islam to the world. “Islam is a cancer, period," he was quoted as saying over and over. According to the AP, the two-hour movie, “Innocence of Muslims," cost $5 million to make and “was financed with the help of more than 100 Jewish donors.”
