Thousands of people on Friday took to the streets across predominantly Muslim Kashmir Valley to hold protests against an obscure slapstick film tiled Innocence of Muslims mocking Prophet Mohammed and which has set off attacks on US diplomatic missions in Benghazi and Cairo.
The protesters, chanting slogans against the US, Israel and the filmmaker Sam Bacile, torched the national flags of the two countries. These protests were held mainly after the Friday congregational prayers in mosques and passed off peacefully expect in a couple of areas in Srinagar, where groups of angry youth hurled rocks and other missiles on police and CRPF when they came in their way. Earlier, the police placed all key separatist and religious leaders under house arrest or they were detained in police stations to prevent them from relocating to mosque or leading the planned protests against the video.
Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmed asked American citizens to leave the Valley immediately to avoid public wrath in the wake of video clips on the Web. Hundreds of lawyers in Srinagar suspended work and marched out of the courts and into the streets in protest and chanting “Down with America” and “Down with Israel”.