Russian court in Muslim-dominated Chechnya outlaws anti-Islam film as “extremist”

MOSCOW – A Russian court has outlawed an anti-Islam film that has sparked violence around the world.

The court in Grozny, the provincial capital of Russia’s Muslim-dominated province of Chechnya, ruled Friday that the “Innocence of Muslims” should be banned as “extremist and inciting religious and ethnic hatred.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the verdict would apply only to Chechnya or to all of Russia.

Russia’s communications minister had warned that authorities would bar access to YouTube if its owner, Google Inc., failed to abide by a court order to block access to the U.S.-produced film, which mocks Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad.

Google’s spokeswoman in Russia, Inessa Roman-Pogorzhelskaya, said the company could restrict access to the video if it received a court order outlawing it.