Top Saudi cleric calls for suing Google over anti-Islam Youtube film

Khaled al-Shaya, a top Saudi cleric, recently called on Islamic countries to ban and legislate against Google, after the internet search giant’s apparent “disrespect of Islamic beliefs” in continuing to display an inflammatory video against Islam, news website CNN Arabic reported on Saturday.

Google - the parent company of video sharing site Youtube, which hosted the controversial video entitled “The Innocence of Muslims” - had “insulted the Prophet” by not removing the video, said Shaya, who serves as the assistant secretary-general of the Global Commission for Introducing the Messenger, a Riyadh-based Islamic organization.

The video “insulted the Prophet through distorting facts and spreading falsehoods, which was condemned by Muslims as well as all those who support rightness and justice,” said Shaya, adding that the Islamic world needed to “look into” freedom of expression.

Not content

Shaya also said that Google should “repent” of being an active participant in spreading false information about Islam.

“We shouldn’t be content with Google removing the abusive movie but should oblige them to correct their mistake,” said the cleric.

“In the same way that it spread lies, it should be obliged to spread truth and rightness by presenting credible information about the Messenger, and his various qualities and ethics,” he added.

The film enraged many Muslims worldwide upon its release on Youtube in 2012.

Google is currently fighting a court order that requires it to take down all copies of the video after an actress in the film sued - claiming that she was misled into acting in the film and that her presence in it would cause irreparable harm to her reputation.