Editor's note: The Associated Press has uncovered the identity of the film's real creator, a Coptic activist in California convicted of bank fraud.
Terry Jones, pastor of a small fundamentalist church in Florida, drew condemnation from evangelical leaders when he burned copies of the Qur'an and inspired deadly riots in Afghanistan. Now, Jones' comments about a new amateur film are being cited as the fuel that sparked attacks on the U.S. embassies in Egypt and Libya that resulted in the death of the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
However, it remains unclear whether Jones knew of the film at all until notified of its existence by the New York Times after the attacks.
Protesters cited the film "Innocence of Muslims" as the reason for their attacks, which killed three U.S. foreign service agents and Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Observers are bracing for similar riots to break out in Afghanistan.
A trailer for the video, made by a California man named Sam Bacile, had been released on YouTube, and ...
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