SRINAGAR — Indian Kashmir's most senior Islamic cleric has told all US citizens to “immediately leave” the region because of the privately-produced anti-Islam film that surfaced in the United States. “US citizens visiting Kashmir should leave immediately as the sentiments of the Muslims have been hurt by these pictures,” the Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Bashiruddin Ahmad said Thursday, the Press Trust of India reported. “Everyone accepts the greatness of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and any attempt to malign his image will not be tolerated,” the news agency quoted him as saying. Meanwhile, thousands of angry protested Friday against the film, burning US flags and calling President Barack Obama a “terrorist.” At least 15,000 people took part in more than two dozen protests across Kashmir, chanting “Down with America” and “Down with Israel” in some of the largest anti-American demonstrations against the film in Asia. State authorities have asked the Indian government to block online clips from the film, the region's top police official Ashok Prasad said Friday. US and Israeli flags were burned at many of the protests across the Muslim-majority region. Hundreds of lawyers in the main city of Srinagar stopped work and marched out of court and into the streets in protest. One protester held a poster with Obama's picture and the words “real terrorist.” In response to cleric Ahmad's statement, US Embassy officials sent out a message reiterating its call for citizens to stay away from Kashmir, a volatile territory where many oppose India's rule. Police said they were investigating the cleric's statement. Though many local separatists groups disavowed the threat to Americans, local authorities put five top separatist leaders under house arrest, a common action when protests or violence is expected. Jamaat-e-Islami, Kashmir's biggest Islamic party, demanded the US government crack down on the filmmakers. “If America is true in its claim of being against any kind of religious blasphemy, then it should lose no time in taking stern action against these enemies of humanity,” a statement from the party said. — Agencies
