Anti-Islam video faces ban; tight security at US consulates

The Union government is taking all precautionary measures to ensure that the crude anti-Islamic video created by US national Sam Bacile does not find its way in India. The Jammu and Kashmir government is particularly sensitive on the issue. It has shot off a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), urging it to take adequate precautionary measures to block any broadcast of this film in any manner in the country. The official agencies are keeping tabs on all sites and other possible routes through which the video may be distributed to create tension communal tension. [caption id=“attachment_454834” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A vehicle on fire in Libya.[/caption] The MHA is expected to issue a formal ban order on display of this video in any form. The Ministry of External Affairs is also in touch with its American counterpart on the subject. Meanwhile, security at five United States diplomatic missions in the country has been tightened. A heightened security presence was clearly visible in and around the American Embassy compound in New Delhi’s Chanakyapuri area. “We have directed states to tighten the security at all US missions in the country,” Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said. Though security inside the embassy complex rests with the US, all five diplomatic missions have always been considered “high risk” category buildings and provided round-the-clock police security by the states concerned. The crude and provocative video “Innocence of Muslims,” which has been blamed for a wave of deadly violence in Libya and Yemen, is supposed to have been made somewhere in the sprawl of Southern California. It is believed to have been promoted by a network of right-wing Christians having strong anti-Muslim sentiments. The video is said to be comically amateurish in production values and was first posted in June on YouTube but had not initially generated any wave. But it triggered unrest and left a trail of bloody violence after it was translated into Arabic and reposted twice on YouTube in the days before 11 September. The US ambassador to Libya was killed in an attack by terror groups and violent agitators yesterday.