Moslems held demonstrations across Malaysia on Friday, calling for the United States to prevent distribution of an anti-Islam film they said was part of a plot by "Christian beturbanned goons".Violent protests that began in Egypt and Libya on Tuesday over the amateur, privately-produced US movie "Innocence of Moslems" had already spread to several other Moslem countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
But Friday marked the first, albeit peaceful, demonstrations in Moslem-majority Malaysia.
They included a group of about 30 people representing various Islamic organizations who marched to the US embassy in the capital Kuala Lumpur.
They handed over a memo to an embassy official calling for the US to take the clip off YouTube, prevent it being released, and to try the filmmakers for "crimes against human rights
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" and "inciting Moslems".
"They have insulted the Prophet Mohammed, portraying him as a sex maniac and gay," said demonstrator Aminuddin Yahya.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
he said the protesters were not against Christianity and condemned violence in Libya that lead to the deaths of the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans.
A crowd also held a demonstration at the Batu Caves, a popular tourist spot outside the capital, and Malaysian media reported another protest in the northern city of Ipoh.
The opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party said protests would be held at other cities around the country but AFP could not immediately confirm how widespread they were. There have been no reports of violence.
The low-budget movie portrays Moslems as immoral and gratuitously violent, pokes fun at the Prophet Mohammed and touches on themes of paedophilia and homosexuality.
Angry demonstrators have stormed the US embassy in Yemen and stoned Washington's mission in Cairo.
At least 60 percent of Malaysians are Moslems, but there is also a sizeable Christian minority.
There is mild tension between the two communities, with some Islamic groups in recent years accusing Christians of a concerted effort to proselytise Moslems, which is illegal in Malaysia.