Anti-Islam film: US condemns Pakistan minister's bounty

The US state department has condemned a Pakistani minister's offer of
$100,000 (£61,600) for the death of the American maker of an
anti-Islam film.
It said the step was"inflammatory and inappropriate".
Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour made the offer after a wave of
protests against the film across Pakistan and the wider Muslim world.
Dozens have died in clashes between police andprotesters in Pakistan
and countries such as Tunisia and Sudan.
Sunday saw a fresh round of protests over the film in Pakistan,
Nigeria, Greece and Turkey.
Most passed off peacefully, but in the Greek capital Athens, riot
police and demonstrators clashed. Six people were arrested.
A state department official told the BBC: "The president and secretary
of state have both said the video at the core of this is offensive,
disgusting, and reprehensible - but that is no justification for
violence,and it is important for responsible leaders to stand up and
speak out against violence.
"Therefore we find Mr Bilour's announcement is inflammatory and
inappropriate. We note that the prime minister's office has
dissociated itself from his comments."
In hiding
The exact origins of Innocence of Muslims, the low-budget film that
has prompted the unrest, are unclear.
The alleged producer of thetrailer of the film, Nakoula Basseley
Nakoula, is in hiding.
Anti-US sentiment grew after a trailer for the film dubbed into Arabic
was released on YouTube earlier this month.
US citizens have been urged not to travel to Pakistan, and the US
embassy has paid for adverts on Pakistani TV showing President Barack
Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the film.
Although US targets have borne the brunt of protestsagainst the film,
anti-Western sentiment has been stoked further by caricatures of the
Prophet Muhammad published this week in the satirical Frenchmagazine,
Charlie Hebdo.
France shut embassies and other missions in about 20 countries across
the Muslimworld on Friday.
An 18-year-old man who threatened the magazine's editors on Facebook
has been charged with terrorism-related activity following his arrest
in the southern French city of Toulon, a judicial source told AFP news
agency on Sunday.

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