Belgian police detain 230 protesting anti-Islam film

BRUSSELS - Agence France-Presse

Protesters shout anti-U.S. slogans during a protest against a film produced in the U.S. that they said that was insulting to the Prophet Mohammad in front of the U.S. Embassy in Turkey September 16, 2012. REUTERS Photo

Belgian police said Sunday they have detained 230 people in the northern city of Antwerp after clashes at a demonstration against an anti-Islam film that has sparked a wave of protests.

The protesters shouted anti-US slogans, and some also set fire to the US flag, according to television footage of Saturday's unauthorised demonstration in an area that has a large Muslim population.
 
It degenerated into clashes with police after officers blocked the protesters from moving to a main thoroughfare.
 
One policeman was lightly wounded, local police spokesman Fons Bastiaenssens said, adding that a total of 230 people had been detained.
 
A leader of the Islamist group Sharia4Belgium was among those detained, according to television station RTBF.
 
Protests have erupted in the Arab and Muslim world over the low-budget US film "Innocence of Muslims" which portrays Muslims and the Prophet Mohammed in insulting terms.