Violent anti-film protests killed 19 people in Pakistan

In the violent protests after Friday prayers, 19 people were killed in Pakistan – 12 in Karachi, the rest in Peshawar and other cities. Violent crowds filled the streets Friday despite the airing on local TV of an ad produced by the US embassy in Islamabad featuring President Obama and Secretary Clinton denouncing the anti-Muslim video. Ahead of expected outbreaks of protest, France shut down embassies and schools in 20 Muslim countries following the publication of satirical cartoons in a French weekly.

France and other European governments took steps to forestall protests by their own Muslim minorities. In Paris, some Muslim leaders urged their follows to heed a government ban on weekend demonstrations, after the government ordered a zero-tolerance crackdown on violators of the ban. In Tunisia, the authorities outlawed all demonstrations. US diplomatic missions in India, Indonesia and other Islamist capitals were closed for the day. Germany closed its embassy in Cairo.