CAIRO: A quick YouTube search on Wednesday morning revealed numerous postings of the anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims,” which had purportedly been banned from viewing in Egypt by Google, the parent company of YouTube. At least four clips, including a 74 minute “film” could be found by Bikyamasr.com searches. This comes less than a week after Google announced it was blocking the film from being viewable in Egypt after angry and violent protests erupted in the country and across the Islamic world over the video that insults and defames Islam and Prophet Mohamed. “I am shocked that this is still here,” Ahmed Yassin, a 28-year-old advertising executive in Cairo, told Bikyamasr.com on Tuesday morning when shown the clip still can be viewed in the country. “I am disgusted by the lies and lack of professionalism by Google and YouTube. If they say it is banned, they better make sure it is.” Last week, Google announced it would not ban the film clip from its site, but did say it would block it in Egypt after the protests in the country erupted. But it remains viewable, despite the claims. The film clip shows the Prophet as being a fraud, participating in child sexual crimes and alleges he could have been a homosexual. The clip is extremely insulting to Islam and the protests have demanded the US take action against filmmaker Sam Bacile, who is currently in hiding in California. Last Tuesday 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, which left Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American staffers dead. Google said it was attempting to balance freedom of speech with legal and ethical concerns. In a statement released last Wednesday, Google rejected the idea of removing the video, arguing that it did not violate YouTube's policies. “This video – which is widely available on the Web – is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube," Google said in the statement. “However, given the very difficult situation in Libya and Egypt, we have temporarily restricted access in both countries." The company added: “Our hearts are with the families of the people murdered in yesterday's attack in Libya." ** EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this article was published early Tuesday morning, the film clip has since been blocked again by Google.
