Christian Charity in California Linked to 'Innocence of Muslims' (Report)

A second Egyptian immigrant living in California and the Christian charity he leads have been linked to the production of the anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims, which has been cited as a potential reason behind anti-American violence in the Middle East in recent days, the LA Times reported.

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It said Joseph Nassralla Abdelmasih, the president of a charity called Media for Christ, appeared to have been a collaborator on the movie with Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. Both appeared to be in hiding, the paper said.

The deputy city manager in Duarte, Calif. where the charity is based told the LA Times that she had heard from sheriff's officials that the shooting permit for the film had been issued to Media for Christ.

A Media for Christ representative told the LA Times though that the charity was not involved with the movie and was upset about its content. The paper also quoted an associate who served as a script consultant as saying that Nassralla "had nothing to do with it."

Media for Christ's mission is to "glow Jesus' light" to the world.

The online trailer for the film, which THR on Thursday reported was partially shot on a set that Paramount's TV unit helped build for JAG, led to outrage and violence this week.

Los Angeles County officials said the U.S. State Department had asked them not to release details of the film permits with information on who organized the shoot. The Obama administration on Wednesday asked Google-owned online video site YouTube to review whether the trailer for the film violated its terms of service.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai