Muslim demonstrators destroy Virgin Mary in Niger in anger over anti-Islam film

ZINDER, Niger – Muslims angry over a U.S.-made film that portrays Islam’s Prophet Muhammad as a womanizer have attacked a Christian school in eastern Niger, destroying a statue of the Virgin Mary.

An Associated Press reporter present in Zinder, located 550 miles (900 kilometres east) of the capital, Niamey, saw the mob also burn the school’s door and bunks used by the pupils before security forces intervened.

Protester Mamane Sani said, “Our religion has been attacked, and it’s why we are in the streets to express our anger.”

Eighty per cent of Niger’s 16 million people are Muslim. Riots over the anti-Muslim film have spread to numerous countries, including the West African nations of Mauritania and Nigeria.