Germany mulls ban on screening of prophet film

Authorities in Germany are considering whether to ban the public screening of a film about Islam’s Prophet Muhammad that has led to furious protests by Muslims worldwide, Hurriyet reports German Chancellor Angela Merkel as saying.

Last week, the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed when protesters attacked a U.S. compound in Benghazi, while in Sudan an angry mob stormed the GermanEmbassy in Khartoum during a demonstration against the film.

Merkel said authorities fear a public screening in Germany could result in violence and she saw "good reasons" for issuing a ban. "It’s not about banning the film itself but about whether the public screening would endanger public safety," she told reporters in Berlin.

She urged Muslims angry about the film’s depiction of their prophet to desist from violence and express their views peacefully.

Germany on the weekend forbade American Pastor Terry Jones, who sparked Arab world outrage when he burned Qurans on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, from entering the country for a screening.

Interior Ministry spokesman Hendrik Loerges told The Associated Press that the ban also applies to the filmmaker, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula.