THE UNITED STATES has taken out television advertising denouncing a controversial film, lampooning Islam, which has caused significant disquiet and protests throughout the Muslim world.
The US embassy in Islamabad has paid $70,000 (€54,000) to run the adverts, which feature clips of president Barack Obama and secretary of state Hillary Clinton denouncing the movie and distancing the United States from it.
“Since our founding the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths,” Obama says in the 30-second clip, which uses clips of both figures taken from press conferences held in recent days.
“We reject all efforts to denigrate religious beliefs of others.”
Hillary Clinton, directly following him, states clearly:
Let me state very clearly that the United States has absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its contents. America’s commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation.
NBC News quoted a spokeswoman for Clinton’s state department who said it was common practice in Pakistan to buy commercial TV advertising
The video is broadcast in English but subtitled in Urdu, the main language spoken in Pakistan.
Its broadcast coincides with a national holiday in Pakistan, which has been declared solely to allow the public to protest the video, albeit only through peaceful means.
Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar told AP the “day of loving the prophet”, as today has been named, would motivate the peaceful majority to demonstrate their love for the Prophet Muhammad and not allow extremists to turn it into a show of anger against the United States.
Additional reporting by AP
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