By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Hundreds of Islamists staged angry protests across Pakistan on Friday after the release of an anti-Koran film by a Dutch lawmaker that a militant allegedly linked to al-Qaida's No. 2 leader has warned will spark reprisal attacks.
Small groups of demonstrators, mostly followers of hard-line religious groups, rallied in major cities, demanding Pakistan cut diplomatic relations with the Netherlands. A banner at one demonstration read, "We hate the uncivilized West."
The 15-minute film by Geert Wilders, who heads a reactionary political party with seats in the Dutch parliament, was posted on a Web site late Thursday. It sets verses of the Koran against a background of images from terrorist attacks.
Pakistan's government condemned the "defamatory film, which deeply offended the sentiments of Muslims all over the world." It summoned the Dutch ambassador to lodge a "strong protest."