OIC condemns deadly protests in Cairo, Benghazi

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has strongly denounced Wednesday’s attacks on the US missions in Egypt and Libya that killed the US Ambassador to Libya John Christopher Stevens and three other diplomats.

The deadly assaults in Benghazi and Cairo were reportedly sparked by a US-produced movie trailer entitled Innocence of Muslims, which portrays Prophet Muhammad as a fraud and a womanizer.

“While the film is a deplorable act of incitement, we cannot condone resorting to violence resulting in the loss of innocent lives,” OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a press release received by The Jakarta Post Digital late Wednesday.

The organization called for restraint among Muslims and urged resolution through "structured international engagement", a reference to UN Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18 on “Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief.”

Ihsanoglu also suggested the implementation of the Istanbul Process, a series of measures to prevent religious discrimination and violence.

Separately, the video-sharing website YouTube has decided to leave the movie trailer on its website, saying it doesn't violate its policies, but has blocked access to it in Egypt and Libya, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

"We are working hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and one that also enables people to express different opinions," YouTube said in a statement. (yps/iwa)