Man behind film that stoked Middle East riots not sorry

The Los Angeles area man who made the antiIslam film that sparked protests across the Muslim world has no regrets about his insulting portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad, he said in an interview with The New York Times.

In his first public comments since the 14-minute trailer for his film, “Innocence of Muslims,” gained notoriety in Sep- tember, Mark Basseley Youssef told the newspaper he wanted to reveal what he called “the actual truth” about Muhammad and raise awareness of the violence committed “under the sign of Allah.”

The trailer portrays Muhammad as a womanizer, ruthless killer and child molester. The film touched off a torrent of anti-American unrest in Arab and Muslim countries. For many Muslims, any depiction of the prophet is considered blasphemous.

In explaining his reasons for the film, Youssef, an Egyptian-born Coptic Christian, cited “atrocities” by Muslims. After a Muslim Army officer killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, “I became even more upset and enraged,” he said in written com- ments conveyed to the Times through his attorney. A Times request to interview him in person was blocked by prison authorities.

“I thought, before I wrote this script that I should burn myself in a public square to let the American people and the people of the world know this message that I believe in,” he said.

Youssef, a former gasoline station owner who previously changed his name from Nakoula Basseley Nakoula and who also has gone by the name Sam Basile, received a one-year prison sentence in early November for violating terms of his federal probation for a bank and credit card fraud conviction.