Doubts arise over anti-Muslim filmmaker

LOS ANGELES -- The man behind YouTube video excerpts from an anti-Muslim movie that provoked mobs in Egypt and Libya said yesterday that he has gone into hiding. But doubts rose about the man's identity amid false claims about his background and role in the purported film.

The film shows an amateur cast performing a wooden dialogue of crude insults disguised as revelations about the prophet Muhammad. All that is currently known to exist of the film is about 13 minutes of excerpts that were posted on YouTube, in English and Arabic language versions.

A man who identified himself in a telephone interview as Sam Bacile said he is an Israeli-born Jewish writer and director of "Innocence of Muslims." Bacile was the name used to publish movie excerpts as early as July 2.

But facts about Bacile's background and role in the film crumbled Wednesday as a Christian activist involved in the film project, Steve Kline, said Bacile was a pseudo-nym, that he was not Jewish or Israeli, and that a group of Americans of Mideast origin collaborated on the film.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, said he was the manager for the film production but denied he had posed as Bacile.