Hezbollah leader calls for international law against insulting Islam and says people who support offensive Mohammed film 'should be punished'

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah gave a televised speech condemning anyone who supports the anti-Islam film



Tony Blair: The film may be wrong and offensive but it's laughable in terms of film-making



In a move that could escalate tensions around the Arab world, the leader of the Hezbollah militant group called for protests against the movie and said the U.S. must be held accountable for the film.

In a televised speech, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah pushed for the creation of an international law that would ban insults of Islam and other religions, citing similar laws that exist to prevent anti-Semitism.

His outrage stems from the anti-Islam film produced by a mysterious convict based in California, that has since sparked protests outside American embassies in the Middle East and across the globe.

Arguing for action: Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah pushed for the creation of an international law that would ban insults of Islam in wake of the offensive film that prompted global protests

'Those who should be held accountable, punished, prosecuted and boycotted are those directly responsible for this film and those who stand behind them and those who support and protect them, primarily the United States of America,' Mr Nasrallah said.

He called for protests on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, urging protesters to call on their leaders to express their anger too.

'We should not only express our anger at an American embassy here or there. We should tell our rulers in the Arab and Muslim world that it is "your responsibility in the first place" and since you officially represent the governments and states of the Muslim world you should impose on the United States, Europe and the whole world that our prophet, our Quran and our holy places and honor of our Prophet be respected,' he said.



In Pakistan, police fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters in Karachi after they broke through the barricade and reached the outer wall of the U.S. Consulate.

The protesters threw stones and bricks, prompting the police to beat back the crowd with their batons. The police and private security guards outside the consulate also fired in the air to disperse the crowd.

One protester was killed during the clash, said Ali Ahmar, spokesman for the Shiite Muslim group that organized the rally.

The protests were set off by a low-budget, crudely produced film called 'Innocence of Muslims', which portrays Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a child molester.



Tensions flare: Pakistani Shiite Muslim protesters throw stones toward the police as they attempt to reach the US consulate during a rally against an anti-Islam movie in Karachi

Emotions run high: Thousands of protesters shout slogans during a march in Lahore, Pakistan, against an anti-Islam film made in the U.S.

Call for action: Protesters in Lahore are demanding that the Pakistan government immediately end diplomatic relations with all Western countries and recall its envoys to protest the film

A 14-minute excerpt of the film, which is both in English and dubbed into Arabic, has been available on YouTube, although some countries have cut access to the site.

The violence began Tuesday when mainly Islamist protesters climbed the U.S. Embassy walls in the Egyptian capital of Cairo and tore down the American flag from a pole in the courtyard.

Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, also was killed Tuesday along with three other Americans, as violent protesters stormed the consulate in Benghazi.

President Barack Obama has vowed that the attackers would be brought to justice but also stressed that the U.S. respects religious freedom.

The President's response was echoed by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who called into BBC's Radio 4 Monday morning to discuss the continued violence.

Mr Blair, now Middle East envoy for the Quartet of powers, said: 'The film, it may be wrong and offensive but it is also laughable as a piece of film-making.

Urging understanding: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said 'The film, it may be wrong and offensive but it is also laughable as a piece of film-making.'

'What I am afraid is very dangerous and actually is wrong is the reaction to it.'

Mr Blair said such problems were an inevitable consequence of the Arab Spring that has overthrown repressive regimes in Libya and elsewhere.

'I just see a region that is in the process of huge transition. There is essentially a struggle between the forces of modernisation, who want an open society, a properly functioning economy, who recognise the 21st century is the 21st century, and then those of reaction based on a perverted view of religion, that want to pull the whole thing backwards,' he said.

'When you lift the lid off the repression what comes out are a whole lot of religious, ethnic, tribal influences that themselves have to be countered and moulded into something that is compatible with the modern world.'

Going global: The protests spread to Indonesia as American flags were burned outside of the U.S. embassy in Jakarta

Aiming for Americans: By protesting with English posters, these Pakistani students tried to get their point across to an international audience

Mr Blair said he had changed his view since his time in Number 10, when he used to avoid discussions about faith.

'What the politicians often want to do - for totally understandable reasons, I used to feel this myself - is religion is such a tricky subject for us that we want to stay away from it,' he said.

'But one element of resolving this is about a view of religion that is also open-minded and pluralistic.

'And what you actually require for democracy to function properly is a view of democracy in which religion has its place but where you have democracy-friendly religion as well as religion-friendly democracy.'