US Embassy In Cairo Attacked Over Film Portrayal Of Prophet Mohammed

By Maya Shwayder | September 11 2012 2:40 PM

Egyptian protestors scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy in Cairo on Tuesday to protest an upcoming film release that they say portrays the Prophet Mohammed in a negative light.

Reuters

Protesters clashed with soldiers near the U.S. embassy in Cairo last March, 2012.

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The AP described the protestors as "largely ultra conservative Islamists." The group of protestors made their way into the courtyard of the embassy, tore down the American flag, ripped it up and burned it. They then attempted to raise their own flag with the words of the shahada, the Isalmic creed, which reads, "There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger."

Muslim law forbids the portrayal of the prophet Mohammed in any way.

Estimates by Reuters put the number of protestors outside the walls at around 2,000.

No one was reported injured. Embassy officials told the AP that there was no one inside the embassy at the time.