Analysis: Prophet film diverts gaze from Syria
BEIRUT (AP) -- For the embattled Syrian regime, the crudely produced film mocking Islam that has unleashed fury across the Muslim world could not have come at a better time.
Images of furious protesters targeting Western diplomatic sites in Libya, Egypt, Pakistan and elsewhere have diverted the world's gaze from the bloodstained streets of Syria, where President Bashar Assad is trying to crush an 18-month-old uprising.
The crisis over the film also has reinvigorated militant rhetoric that U.S. and Israel are the real enemies of Muslims, taking the heat off of both Assad and his loyal and powerful ally in neighboring Lebanon, the militant group Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, Syria's Cabinet condemned the movie, titled "Innocence of Muslims." In its first official reaction, the Cabinet said the film about the Prophet Muhammad is "cheap and provocative," adding that it's "part of a Western project that aims to infringe upon the nation's heritage and symbols ... as a prelude to control its potentials and wealth."
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