A senior Iranian cleric declared the Hajj to be a great time to stoke up protests against the Innocence of Muslims film.
The Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are expected to make at least once in their lives, begins two days from now.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz told reporters Saturday that the kingdom doesn’t expect any trouble to be caused by Iranian pilgrims, who have provoked police clashes in the past by staging political protests.
“Secretary-General of Ahlulbayt World Assembly Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Hassan Akhtari described Hajj ceremonies as an opportunity for Muslims to cry out their protests against the blasphemous movie,” reported Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency today. “…The film has been financed by more than 100 Jews and produced by an American-Israeli man in the US.”
The writer and producer of the anti-Muhammed film has been identified as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a 55-year-old Coptic Christian from Egypt living near Los Angeles.
There have been protests against the film at U.S. installations in Pakistan, Indonesia, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and elsewhere.
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