Egyptian protesters removed the American flag from the walls of the US embassy in Cairo during a thousands-strong demonstration to protest an anti-Islam short film produced by the Coptic-Christian community in the United States.
A number of protesters managed to climb and stand atop the walls surrounding the embassy, while others were able to breach the embassy's garden, where they removed an American flag and replaced it with a large flag bearing the Islamic declaration of faith: "There is no God but Allah and Mohamed is the Prophet of Allah."
The Islamist protesters had answered a call by Salafist leader Wesam Abdel-Wareth – who is also the president of Egypt's ultra-conservative Hekma television channel – to protest the film 'Muhammad's trial' at 5pm outside the US embassy in Cairo's Garden City district.
The protest began to deviate from its peaceful nature when some demonstrators began setting off fireworks, the sound of which resembled gunfire. Other demonstrators at the scene chanted "Peaceful, Peaceful," urging their fellow protesters to refrain from acts of violence.
At one point, the Egyptian Army intervened, surrounding the embassy grounds in an effort to pacify the situation.
The controversial film is reportedly being produced by US-based Coptic-Christian Egyptians, including Esmat Zaklama and Morees Sadek.
Maurice Sadek, a Coptic lawyer based in the US , announced earlier this week that the US-based 'High Authority of the Coptic State' would broadcast the 13-minute film on Tuesday to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington.
Various local churches in Egypt have condemned the film in recent days, asserting that those responsible for it were merely carrying out their own agendas and did not represent Egypt's Christian community.
As of 8pm, roughly 20 people were standing atop the embassy's outer wall, while some 2,000 protesters amassed outside the building.
In a Tuesday statement, the US embassy condemned the "ongoing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the feelings of Muslims" and the continued attacks on the religious beliefs of others under the guise of "freedom of expression."
Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church and Evangelical Church, meanwhile, both released statements on Monday condemning the film, stressing that it did not represent Egypt's Christian community.
Fadi Yousef, a member of the Egyptian Coptic Coalition, demanded that those responsible for producing the film be put on trial, describing the film's content as "offensive to all Egyptians."
