MOSCOW, December 26 – RAPSI. The controversial “Innocence of Muslims” film, prohibited by a Moscow district court, has been blacklisted, the Russian Justice Ministry reported on Wednesday.
The film which has incited a massive uproar in the Islamic world has been put on the federal list of extremist materials. Now it is deemed officially prohibited in Russia.
On September 8, the trailer for a low-grade and (at that point) almost universally unknown film aimed at discrediting Islam was aired by an Egyptian television network. The footage had been uploaded in June, but attracted little attention prior to its televised debut. The trailer caused major rage amongst Muslims and led to the staging of anti-American protests at U.S. embassies and consulates.
Mass protests have broken out in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Sudan, as well as in other predominantly Muslim countries over the film. U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens was killed along with three colleagues when rioters attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on September 11.
The United States strengthened the security of its diplomatic staff in countries where they could be subject to attack, while a number of nations have blocked access to the film. Meanwhile, Google has only honored requests to remove clips of the film from its video-hosting services in certain countries based on government requests.
The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow has declared the U.S.-made film extremist on October 1.