By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
LONDON, U.K. – Several thousand British Muslims gathered outside Google’s London offices Sunday to demand that the company remove the anti-Islamic film, “The Innocence of Muslims,” from its subsidiary website, YouTube.
For several hours Sunday, protesters filled the street in front of Google’s London headquarters, forcing Buckingham Palace Road to be closed for at least three hours almost up to the Palace gates. Barricades were erected, and protestors carried signs with messages such as “We love our prophet more than our lives” and “Prophet Muhammad is the founder of freedom of speech.”
Khalid Mahmood, of campaign group Voyce, explained that the demonstration against Google was the first in the UK, and that other acts would follow. He said: “This is a demonstration against hate speech on the internet and YouTube in particular.”
The protestors specifically want the 14 minute video from the allegedly forthcoming “Innocence of Muslims” film, which has caused great controversy in the Muslim world in the last month, permanently blocked.
The protest comes only a few days after al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called for a holy war against the US and Israel over the same video.
Organizer Masoud Alam explained that the video presents an issue not of freedom of speech, but rather of religious intolerance. He stated: “This is not freedom of expression, there is a limit for that. This insult of the Prophet will not be allowed.”
Muslims came to London for the protest from many corners of the U.K., including some reported from Birmingham, Blackburn, Manchester, Peterborough, and even Glasglow. Around 800 imams in British mosques took part in organizing the protest.
It is estimated that between 3,500 Muslims, according to BBC News, and 10,000 Muslims, according to the Telegraph, participated in the protest.
Women are difficult to spot in protest photographs and video. However, according to one protestor, they were present nonetheless “right at the back.”
Organizers plan further protests in the city in coming weeks, including a one million-strong march in London’s Hyde Park.
“Until it is banned we will keep protesting,” Alam affirmed.
“The Innocence of Muslims” video was uploaded on YouTube in July by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a California-based Egyptian-American, who is now in custody for the unrelated charge of violating the terms of his probation for a pre-existing fraud offense.
Violence surrounding the video erupted in September when an Arabic-language version became available on YouTube. Amid the resulting violence, four Americans, including the US ambassador to Libya, were killed in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi.
Thereafter, Google and YouTube restricted access to the video in Egypt and Libya. However, Google continues to assert that this video is not hate speech because hate speech is speech against individuals, not against groups, according to the New York Times. Because the video criticizes Islam, but not the Muslim people, YouTube finds it to be allowable.
A Spokesperson YouTube said: “We work hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and which also enables people to express different opinions. . . This video – which is widely available on the Web – is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube.”
However, the protestors feel differently. Sheikh Faiz Al-Aqtab Siddiqui, an imam, explained the severity of the situation: “Terrorism is not just people who kill human bodies, but who kill human feelings as well. The makers of this film have terrorized 1.6 billion people. Organizations like Google are key players and have to take responsibility for civility. You can’t just say it doesn’t matter that it’s freedom of speech. It’s anarchy.”
For more information, please see:
BBC News – Anti-Islam Film Protest Outside Google’s London HQ – 14 October 2012
Global Post – 10,000 Muslims Rally Outside Google’s London HQ Over US-made Anti-Islam Film: Report – 14 October 2012
The Telegraph – Muslims Protest ‘Age of Mockery’ as Thousands Descend on Google HQ – 14 October 2012
The Guardian – Al-Qaida leader calls for holy war on US and Israel over anti-Islamic film – 13 October 2012
The Telegraph – US Filmmakers Banned from Britain over Anti-Mohammed Video – 12 October 2012
The New York Times – As Violence Spreads in Arab World, Google Blocks Access to Inflammatory Video – 13 September 2012
