Baku police disperses believers' protest action outside US Embassy

About 50 people tried to hold a protest in front of the US Embassy in Baku against the USA-made movie "Innocence of Muslims". The police dispersed the action and detained several protesters.

Let us note here that the 14-minute-long fragment from the "Innocence of Muslims" posted on the YouTube and telling about the life of Prophet Muhammad in an offensive manner, has sparked protests in many Muslim countries. In the Libyan city of Benghazi, an armed mob attacked the US Consulate and killed the US Ambassador and three embassy employees.

Participants of action in Baku presented themselves to journalists as "believers"

The action started in Baku at about 3:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. Moscow time); its participants, chanting "Allah Akbar!", went to the Embassy from the adjacent street.

However, on the way to the embassy they were stopped by the police and dispersed. Then, policemen and agents in plainclothes began detaining protesters. About 30 people were detained and taken to the 21st station of the Nasimi district police department, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The police motivated their actions by the fact that the action was not sanctioned by the authorities.

Despite the end of the action, about 10 police cars are still in front of the embassy.

It is unknown what kind of structure had organized the protest. The protesters presented themselves to journalists as "believers".

"We're just believers who attend mosques. We agreed among ourselves to hold the protest. Insult of Islam and Prophet Muhammad is unacceptable. We've come to express our outcry to America. Those who had made this damn movie should be punished," said one of the young protesters.

Orkhan Mansurzade, a press officer of the local MIA, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that several persons were detained during the unsanctioned. "After a prophylactic talk and warning all the detainees were released," he added.

The US Embassy has not commented on the protest action.

IPA and Administration of Caucasian Muslims find movie "Innocence of Muslims" offensive

The Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (IPA) has stated that it had nothing to do with the above action. At the same time, the IPA has condemned the movie "Innocence of Muslims" as provocative and offensive to Muslims.

On September 15, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, the head of the Administration of the Caucasian Muslims, located in Baku, made a statement in connection with the appearance of the movie "Innocence of Muslims", which says that "the movie, filmed by a US citizen, film director Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (also known as Sam Bacile), is a new manifestation of Islamophobia, depicting Prophet Muhammad in an offensive manner."

"The movie has caused an absolutely fair resentment of the Islamic world, the bitter outcome of which was the murder of employees of the US Embassy in Libya. The wave of protests and rallies swept the Muslim world and gave way to unrests and killings of innocent people," the document says.

"Some Western countries, which stand for human rights and consider themselves to be bastions of democracy, are in fact violating the democratic principles and often demonstrate aggressive and racist policies against Muslims," Sheikh Pashazade has emphasized.

"We demand to bring to justice Sam Bacile and other perpetrators of the events of recent days, and all those who incite the interethnic and inter-confessional enmity. We also demand legal assessment of their harmful actions," the head of the Administration of the Caucasian Muslims has summed up.