YouTube Blocked in Egypt, Anti-Islam Film 'Innocence of Muslims' [VIDEO]: Judge Rules Trailer Offensive, Suspends the Site for 30 Days?

After the short film "Innocence of Muslims" hit YouTube in July 2012, riots erupted in protest in Egypt, leading to a court-ruled 30-day ban on the website this morning. The nearly 14-minute trailer portrays Islam in a negative light and offends the Prophet Mohammad. Judge Hassouna Tawfig issued the ban in Cairo, Egypt, officially deeming the film "offensive to Islam and the Prophet." The YouTube ban will hopefully diminish protests all over the country.

Even though the official ruling has been made this morning, it is unclear if YouTube will actually end up being blocked in Egypt. According to the Associated Press, "based on precedent (it) may not be enforced." Though it might not stand, the case is definitely groundbreaking in regards to courts evaluating website contents.

When Google (the owner of YouTube) was asked to take down the video at the start of the controversy, the requests were initially declined in numerous countries. After riots broke out and the video was ruled illegal in countries, Google took it down. Restrictions were placed on the video in certain countries, too. Google has determined that "Innocents of Muslim" did not violate YouTube's community standards guidelines governing the United States.

YouTube states:

We work hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and which also enables people to express different opinions. This can be a challenge because what's OK in one country can be offensive elsewhere. This video -- which is widely available on the Web -- is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube. However, we've restricted access to it in countries where it is illegal such as India and Indonesia as well as in Libya and Egypt given the very sensitive situations in these two countries. This approach is entirely consistent with principles we first laid out in 2007.

"Innocence of Muslims" is currently still available on YouTube, with the warning:

 "The following content has been identified by the YouTube community as being potentially offensive or inappropriate. Viewer discretion is advised."

Due to the mounting riots in Egypt, this shocking decision had to be made. The next step is to actually enforce the ruling or take further, lesser steps towards a conclusion to the riots. According to Google spokesperson regarding today's ruling:

"We have received nothing from the judge or government related to this matter."

Below we have included the "Innocence of Muslim" trailer. The views portrayed in this video are in no way associated with this website or author. View at your own discretion.