In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful "And We have not sent you [O Mohammad] but as a mercy to the worlds." - Holy Qur’an (21:107) We as American Muslims and non-Muslims, unite together to express our firm position of condemning the offensive film entitled “Innocence of Muslims,” which portrays the Prophet of Islam Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him, his progeny, and companions) in a very disrespectful and degenerate manner. This film contains grave insults to the greatest Islamic personality of all time and leader of one of the world's major religions. We also strongly condemn the violent reaction of some Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa, and the destruction of public and private properties, as well as the consequent deaths of four Americans including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens. The United States is a nation which guarantees Freedom of Expression to its people. However, freedom of expression does not include allowing messages of malice and ridicule towards others to be propagated, especially in regards to the beliefs and sacred icons of communities. We therefore call upon our government officials, both federal and local, to exercise their efforts to prevent the propagation of such disrespectful forms of media, which only incite hatred and animosity between people, in turn endangering the security and stability of the international community. We also call upon all media outlets, YouTube in particular, to exercise their ethical and professional responsibilities of not allowing their mediums to be grounds for inciting disrespect, hatred, and violence. We ask that all media outlets remove this film and anything related to it from their websites and other outlets immediately. We, as a nation, have the responsibility to be agents of peace, tolerance, and respect for one another. We must be able to show true justice by not allowing such disrespectful media to be propagated, and to call individuals and communities to engage with one another in a respectful and balanced way.

Islamic Educational Center of Orange County Youth Group