BEIRUT (AP) — There may be no end in sight to the protests in the Muslim world over an anti-Islam film.
In Lebanon today, the leader of the country's powerful Hezbollah (hez-BUH'-lah) group called for sustained protests. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah (HAS'-ahn NAS'-ruh-lah) has rarely been seen in public during the past several years, because of fears of an assassination. But he spoke today for about 15 minutes before hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters.
Nasrallah said the U.S. must ban the movie and have it removed from the Internet. And he called on his followers to keep up the pressure. He said, "As long as there's blood in us, we will not remain silent over insults against our prophet."
Unlike protests elsewhere, today's demonstration was peaceful.
But amid the anti-American protests, diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut have started to destroy classified material as a security precaution, and they sent local Lebanese employees home early.
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GRAPHICSBANK: Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, as Hezbollah leader, Beirut, Lebanon, graphic element on gray (17 Sep 2012)
APPHOTO BEI105: Hezbollah supporters wave their flag and hold up Arabic banners that read, "At your service God's prophet, America equals terrorism, and America does not equal freedom," during a rally denouncing an anti-Islam film that has provoked a week of unrest in Muslim countries worldwide, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday Sept. 17, 2012. Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, nor shown, who does not usually appear in public for fear of assassination, called for Monday's protests in Beirut, saying the U.S. must be held accountable for the film because it was produced in America. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (17 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO BEI105 (09/17/12)>>
APPHOTO BEI101: Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, left, speaks to a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters, not shown, during a rally denouncing an anti-Islam film that has provoked a week of unrest in Muslim countries worldwide, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday Sept. 17, 2012. Nasrallah who does not usually appear in public for fear of assassination called for Monday's protests in Beirut, saying the U.S. must be held accountable for the film because it was produced in America. Arabic reads, "the messenger of God." (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (17 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO BEI101 (09/17/12)>>
