Maker of film that spurred current outrage in Muslim world taken in by feds
By Dylan Hackett, News Editor
Early on Saturday morning, Los Angeles County police took in Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, a filmmaker allegedly tied to the film, Innocence of Muslims.
The film is being held responsible for the outrage of a group of Libyans who subsequently murdered the US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American embassy employees. German, British, and American embassies have become hubs of protest against the film across the Middle East. The controversial filmmaker was allegedly taken in for questioning at his local sheriffâs office for unrelated financial crimes.
âThey took him to the local sheriffâs station where he was interviewed. He has since left the area. He was never handcuffed, never arrested, never detained, never in custody. It was all voluntary,â said Sheriffâs Deputy Don Walker.
Nakoula is a member of the Coptic Christian churchâan Egyptian sect of Christians who incorporate ancient rituals into their practice. The churchâs Los Angeles Diocese issued a statement last Thursday condemning both the film and the murderers who allegedly used RPGs to attack the US consulate.
âWe strongly condemn the brutal murder of the United States ambassador to Libya and three of the embassy employees. In order for peace to reign throughout the world, brutality and hatred must be swiftly condemned and punished,â said a press release from the Coptic Orthodox Diocese. âFurthermore, the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California & Hawaii strongly rejects dragging the respectable Copts of the Diaspora in the latest production of an inflammatory movie about the prophet of Islam. The producers of this movie should be responsible for their actions.â
The current outrage has much in common with the 1989 outrage against Salman Rushdieâs novel The Satanic Verses, which caused a fatwÄ to be issued against the novelist and of the outrage caused by a Danish cartoonistâs, Jyllands-Posten, depiction of the prophet Muhammad. In both cases, many of the violent protesters had neither read the novel nor seen the cartoons. In 2005, protesters attacked government embassies of Denmark worldwide because of the nationality of Jyllands-Postenâs publication.
