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[StephanieVanbryce]

YouTube blocks video inciting Middle East violence in Egypt and Libya

By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, September 12, 12:53 PM

NEW YORK — YouTube has blocked a video attacking Islam’s prophet Muhammad in Egypt and Libya, where angry protests were sparked by outrage at the video.

Ultraconservative Muslims enflamed by the video stormed the U.S. embassy in Cairo on Tuesday and replaced an American flag with an Islamic banner. Later Tuesday evening, protesters in Libya burned down the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, killing the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three members of his staff.

The 14-minute video is a trailer to an amateurish, low-budget movie titled “Innocence of Muslims,” which depicts Muhammad as a feckless philanderer who approved of child sexual abuse. Muslims find it offensive to depict Muhammad in any manner, let alone insult the prophet.

YouTube has elected to leave the video on its website, saying it doesn’t violate its policies, but has blocked access to it in Egypt and Libya. The Google-Inc. video site took the unusual step Wednesday of publicly commenting on the video, a practice it typically eschews.

“We work hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and which also enables people to express different opinions,” YouTube said in a statement. “This can be a challenge because what’s OK in one country can be offensive elsewhere. This video — which is widely available on the web — is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube. However, given the very difficult situation in Libya and Egypt we have temporarily restricted access in both countries. Our hearts are with the families of the people murdered in yesterday’s attack in Libya.”

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/in-egypt-youtube-blocks-video-inciting-middle-east-violence/2012/09/12/fcc78e04-fd09-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html