WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today called on Muslims in the Middle East to ignore the distribution of a "trashy" anti-Islam film, clips of which are circulating online, that resulted in an attack on the American embassy in Cairo.

SEE: Egyptians Angry at Film Scale U.S. Embassy Walls
http://tinyurl.com/bp7hgzr

Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a statement:

"We urge that this ignorant attempt to provoke the religious feelings of Muslims in the Arabic-speaking world be ignored and that its extremist producers not be given the cheap publicity they so desperately seek. Those who created this trashy film do not represent the people of America or the Christian faith. The only proper response to intentional provocations such as this film is to redouble efforts to promote mutual understanding between faiths and to marginalize extremists of all stripes.

"We condemn the attack on the American embassy, which had nothing to do with the production of this intentionally inflammatory film."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations