Obama rejects anti-Islam film as crude, disgusting

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - In his address to the 67th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, the US President Barack Obama has rejected an anti-Islam film made in the United States as disgusting.

Obama said in his address that the message conveyed in the “crude” and “disgusting” movie “must be rejected by all who respect our common humanity.”

The US president also denied his administration’s involvement in the controversy, adding that production of the movie was an insult not only to Muslims, but to the United States as well.

“We understand why people take offense to this video, because millions of our citizens are among them.”

However, Obama stated that the removal of such sacrilegious videos or offensive publications from the internet would be a violation of the country’s constitution which “protects the right to practice free speech.”

Obama also condemned the deadly protests sparked by the video, saying that such reactions would only “empower” those individuals who engage in hateful speech “to create chaos around the world.”

He added that all world leaders should be united in standing against extremists across the globe.

Obama vowed to bring to justice those responsible for the deadly attack two weeks ago on the US consulate in Libya, which killed the US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other staff members.

Regarding Iran's nuclear energy program, Obama said that he would prefer to resolve this issue through diplomacy.

He added that although there is still time to reach conclusions on Iran's nuclear energy program through diplomatic dialogue, that time is not unlimited.

As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Obama called for a secure Jewish state, along with an independent Palestine.

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