CAIRO, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Several thousands of Egyptians protested Tuesday in front of the U.S. embassy in the capital Cairo against a movie which insults the Prophet Mohammed, state media reported.
Some protesters pulled down the American flag, expressing their anger over a movie produced by some Coptic migrants in the United States which was deemed offensive to the Prophet Mohammed, according to a statement on Ahram newspaper's website.
Following hauling the U.S. flag down, some protestors tore it up and showed off some pieces to television cameras. Others burned the remains outside the embassy building.
The protesters, most of whom salafists, surrounded the embassy, chanting "we sacrifice our soul and blood for Islam," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Cairo condemned bids by some individuals to hurt the feeling of Muslims.
A statement issued by the embassy said "respecting religious beliefs is the corner stone of the American democracy," adding that "we reject acts by those misusing the freedom of expression in offending other religions."
Arab League (AL) Deputy Secretary General Ahmed bin Heli said in a statement earlier Tuesday that the AL denounced the movie insulting the Prophet.
Osama Abdel Warth, one organizer of the protest, expressed discontent over the movie displayed Tuesday in Florida, U.S., during the anniversary of 9/11 attacks, sponsoring by several hard- line American Copts, some of whom has burnt the Muslims holy book publicly, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported.
Egyptian Religious Endowments Minister Mohamed Salem condemned the insistence of some Egyptian Copts living abroad to air the movie and their call for staging what they call "an international trial of Prophet Mohammed," the report added.
"Such acts will increase tensions and feed hatred," Salem said, warning it would infuriate the Muslims in a way that can be harmful to the international peace and stability.
Both Muslims and Copts participated in the protests, including Salafists' Nour party and "38 Coptic" movement which affirmed that the movie is contradicting with the doctrine of Christianity.
A protester told Xinhua "I lived in Egypt with Copts in unity and some extremists' bids to divide us wouldn't succeed."
A statement issued by the foreign ministry said "the Egyptian authorities are keen to provide all necessary security procedures to protect all embassies and headquarters of diplomatic missions and their employees on its grounds."
Meanwhile, MENA quoted an official from the embassy as confirming the breach of the embassy by protestors, but he denied that guards in the embassy had opened fire against the protesters.
The Egyptian security forces have intensified their deployment around the building. Seven ambulances have been sent to the scene, but no injuries were reported.
Clips of the movie are available on the social website YouTube.
The protestors also called on President Mohamed Morsi to take action to hold back acts disrespecting the Muslims.
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