YouTube Banned in Egypt for a Month Over Anti-Islamic Movie

The video-sharing giant YouTube will be banned in Egypt for a month over a film that denigrates the Prophet Mohammad, this action comes from Egypt's top administrative court on Saturday. The short film's portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed triggered outrage in the Islamic world and led to a 2013 Egyptian case demanding the ban, but the appeal process had kept the ruling in midpoint for the past five years. Until Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling on Saturday dismissed all appeals against 2013 ruling, including one by the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority that said the ruling’s application is not feasible.

The film "Innocence of Muslims", a 14-minute video made in California with private funding stoked a wave of anti-American unrest in Egypt and other Muslim countries when it appeared in 2012. The film depicts the Prophet Muhammad as a buffoon and a paedophile and sparked a wave of angry anti-American protests across the Middle East in which more than 30 people were killed. Washington sought to keep a lid on the demonstrations by saying the controversial film was made privately with no official backing.

Lawyer Mohamed Hamed Salem who filed a case to the court in order to ban YouTube and all other websites that are “Anti-Islam” believes that similar publishing is targeting Muslim youth and trigger sectarian acts through provocation. He further added that the “enemies of Islam” produced the improper film that featured prophet Mohamed in inappropriate ways in order to offend Muslims. With the final ruling on Saturday, all links that broadcast the film will be blocked and cannot be appealed.

It’s unclear whether the decision will be implemented this year or not after the final ruling because reports state YouTube was still accessible in Cairo.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 28, 2018 05:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).