Egypt to ban YouTube over anti-Islam film 'The Innocence of Muslims'

Judge Hassouna Tawfiq ordered the Egyptian government to block access to the site as punishment for allowing users to see the film clip he described as "offensive to Islam and to the Prophet [Mohammed]".

The "Innocence of Muslims", made by an Egyptian American Christian, is a blasphemous portrayal of Islam, showing the Prophet Mohammed as a religious fraud and paedophile.

The film's 14-minute trailer, which was posted to YouTube, incensed communities around the world. Demonstrators in Cairo last September scaled the US embassy's walls and tore down the American flag. The violence spread through over 20 countries, killing more than 50 people.

The lawyer who filed the case against the Egyptian government, Mohammed Hamid Salim, alleged that the film constitutes a threat to Egypt's security.

Last year YouTube's parent company, Google, declined requests to remove the video from the website. It did restrict access to some countries, including Egypt and Libya, because it said the film broke laws in those countries.

A spokeswoman for Google told AP that the firm had "received nothing from the judge or government related to this matter."

The ruling may yet be appealed. Similar orders have in the past failed to be enforced because of the prohibitive costs and technical complexity of doing so.

Egypt's new constitution includes a ban on insulting "religious messengers and prophets." Rights groups, seculars and liberals have complained that Islamist lawyers, emboldened by the ruling Muslim Brotherhood, may use the strictures to restrict certain rights and freedoms.

Two other cases filed against the government and Google are pending in Egyptian courts. One of the lawsuits calls for a complete ban on Google's search engine and demands the company pay a $2 billion fine.