Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man behind the notorious anti-Islamist film "Innocence of Muslims" told a court judge that his real name was actually Mark Basseley Youseff as reported by the Associated Press.
Nakoula (Youseff) was taken into a California court Thursday for violating probation for a bank fraud conviction in 2010. The 55-year-old told the court that that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was yet another alias name he used and that his real name was Mark Basseley Youseff.
Nakoula, who was initially known under the alias name of Sam Bacile, was taken by the Los Angeles police to the LA Sheriff's station a couple of weeks ago where he was questioned over his probation from his conviction of financial fraud in 2011. According to the LA Sheriff, authorities are investigating whether Nakoula violated his five-year probation.
The film, "Innocence of Muslims" has caused a growing outrage among the Muslims world. The attacks started in Libya with deadly attacks on the US embassy in the city of Benghazi in Libya in which three embassy staff members and the US ambassador Christopher Stevens have been killed.
Protests soon spread across the Muslim world, from Egypt to Afghanistan and even Indonesia and Pakistan.
According to reports, the movie was created by an amateur filmmaker on a budget of around $5 million, most of the money coming from 100 unidentified Jewish donors, according to the Wall Street Journal. The film is called, "Innocence of Muslims," and was posted on various Internet sites, including YouTube.
The movie was initially said to be made by an Israeli-American named Sam Bacile. Bacile is 52 years old and works as a real-estate developer according to the Wall Street Journal. Bacile told the WSJ, "Islam is a cancer," he said in a telephone interview from his home. "The movie is a political movie. It's not a religious movie."
However, recent reports suggest that Sam Bacile was merely an alias name.
The movie was endorsed by the same US pastor who became infamous for encouraging the burning of the Quran. Tony Jones has become notorious for voicing his anti-Islamist sentiments. In the movie, the Prophet is mocked, being depicted as scatterbrained, a child molester as well as a killer.
The video created an uproar among fundamentalists, which has spread across the Muslim world from Egypt to Afghanistan and Indonesia to Pakistan.
US embassies in both Benghazi and Cairo have been under mob attacks.
Stevens was the US ambassador to Libya since June 2012. He was 52. Sean Smith has, a US veteran of the State Department has been identified as one of the other three who were killed in the attacks. The remaining two have yet to be identified.
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