Muhammad

It was a Facebook campaign meant to make a stand for free speech. But in Pakistan, a contest encouraging users of the social-networking site to submit caricatures of the prophet Muhammad has been viewed as blasphemous, prompting a court-ordered nationwide ban on the website Wednesday. A court in Lahore, Pakistan's second-largest city, ordered the government to ensure that the country's Internet service providers were blocking access to Facebook, the world's most popular social-networking website.

Khalfani Muhammad of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has never faced a camera he didn't like or taken on an opponent he didn't want to beat. That made Saturday's Southern Section track and field championships the ideal environment for Muhammad to put on a show. Facing competition from some rising young sprinters, Muhammad made it clear he's not ready to relinquish his title as fastest teenager in California. He ran a wind-aided personal best 10.33 seconds to capture the Division 3 100 meters.

In the past century, the life stories of Moses, the Buddha and even Mormon founder Joseph Smith have been told in film. Jesus Christ is such a prolific thespian that there are top-10 lists of his movies. But a prophet of one of the world's largest religions, a man with a fascinating life story and 1.5 billion adoring followers, has never had his star turn. Until now. "Innocence of Muslims," the film that fueled violence and anti-American sentiment around the world, is notorious for bad acting, leaden dialogue and ham-handed production values overseen by a two-time felon from Cerritos.

The Southern Section track and field championships are set for Saturday at Mount San Antonio College, and the 100-meter races could be as sizzling as the weather. Khalfani Muhammad - the defending state champion from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame - continues to be the runner to watch, but there are a lot of competitors closing in, which should push him to keep lowering his times. In the Division 3 final, Muhammad will face a challenge from Encino Crespi freshman Tarrik Brock, who ran the fastest 100 time by a freshman in state history in the preliminaries at 10.57 seconds.

An American teacher has been charged in Bahrain with insulting the prophet Muhammad for displaying images of Islam's founder to university students, a spokesman for the tiny Persian Gulf nation's general prosecutor said. The spokesman, Nawaf Maawdah, said the pictures showed the prophet in ragged clothing. He said the teacher also insulted a student for wearing a head scarf, which she described as "a barrier to knowledge." He declined to reveal the name of the teacher or the university.

Security forces arrested hundreds of Islamic hard-liners, virtually sealed off the capital and used gunfire and tear gas Sunday to quell protests against caricatures of the prophet Muhammad that have appeared in publications worldwide. Pakistan had banned protests after riots killed five people in two cities last week. Elsewhere in the Muslim world Sunday, demonstrators with wooden staffs and stones tried unsuccessfully to storm the U.S.

Dubai is one of the seven states that make up the United Emirates, and these sardonic tales of romance and family relations demonstrate that even within the strictures of traditional Muslim society, husbands and wives find ample opportunity to deceive each other. In "Study Course" and "Fear," young couples express the most tender regards for each other--to conceal their mutual infidelities.

PARIS - Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb, sits calmly behind a desk in a large, messy office with no sign outside indicating the name of his publication. True, there is a riot police car stationed in the street, but basically, he says, he doesn't see what all the fuss is about. "It just so happens I'm more likely to get run over by a bicycle in Paris than get assassinated," says Charb, the soft-spoken editor of Charlie Hebdo, a left-leaning French satirical weekly, which since 2006 has been sued, threatened and firebombed for its sporadic publication of cartoons mocking the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

The movie that apparently sparked attacks on U.S. missions in Egypt and Libya, leading to the death Tuesday of the U.S. ambassador in Libya, looks to be an amateur endeavor made by a filmmaker who is probably working under a pseudonym. Nearly 14 minutes of scenes from a movie titled “Innocence of Muslims” and credited to a writer-director who calls himself Sam Bacile were posted on YouTube two months ago. The clumsily assembled footage features actors in fake beards stiffly delivering lines about the sins of Muhammad on a village set against a greenscreen-created desert backdrop.

Re "What Would Jesus Sell?" Column One, July 21 Cute idea. I'll be waiting for the follow-up -- what would Muhammad sell? M.H. RODRIGUEZ Burbank

NEW YORK - In 11 previous editions, the Tribeca Film Festival has showcased dozens of glitzy studio productions and stars - Tobey Maguire and his "Spider-Man 3" crew rode into town in 2007, Tom Cruise opened "Mission: Impossible III" here in 2006 and last year Joss Whedon world-premiered "The Avengers" on closing night. But when Tribeca's 12th edition opens Wednesday, most of the famous names won't arrive via big-budget Hollywood movies - they'll come as documentary subjects. This cinematic rite of spring has eschewed the splashy studio premiere this year, opening instead with a documentary about the niche rock band the National ("Mistaken for Strangers")

UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad announced Tuesday that he will enter the NBA draft. Muhammad has been expected to declare for the draft. He needed to drop his classes by April 19 or he would have been given an incomplete, which would have counted against UCLA's academic progress rate. While he attended Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, Muhammad was considered among the top two high school players in the nation. He spent one hectic season in Westwood. IN-DEPTH: UCLA star's father mapped out a dream The NCAA held up his eligibility, forcing Muhammad to miss the first three games of the season.

Shabazz Muhammad, the centerpiece of UCLA's 2012 basketball recruiting class, will try his hand at the next level in 2013. Muhammad said Tuesday he would enter the NBA draft in June, a decision that came as no surprise. Muhammad, one of the top players in the nation as a senior at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High, was considered a sure-fire one-and-done college player even before he signed a letter of intent. His departure leaves the Bruins with six players who came to UCLA on scholarship, including the three remaining members of the 2012 recruiting class, which was ranked second nationally.

Khalfani Muhammad of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame proved once again that he is the fastest high school athlete in California, winning the 100 meters in 10.46 seconds at Saturday's Arcadia Invitational. His time is the third fastest in the nation this year and the fastest he has ever run this early in a track season. He's the defending state 100 and 200 champion, so his quick time demonstrates his improved strength from a successful football season when he was running the ball for the Knights.

PARIS - Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb, sits calmly behind a desk in a large, messy office with no sign outside indicating the name of his publication. True, there is a riot police car stationed in the street, but basically, he says, he doesn't see what all the fuss is about. "It just so happens I'm more likely to get run over by a bicycle in Paris than get assassinated," says Charb, the soft-spoken editor of Charlie Hebdo, a left-leaning French satirical weekly, which since 2006 has been sued, threatened and firebombed for its sporadic publication of cartoons mocking the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

UCLA apparel sponsor Adidas, a Los Angeles basketball trainer, a New York financial advisor and a 34-year-old financial planner all contributed funds to basketball standout Shabazz Muhammad and his summer league team as the talented player wound his way across the country, records show. Muhammad is preparing to lead his UCLA Bruins in their first game of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in front of a national television audience. On Friday, The Times reported that Muhammad's father, Ron Holmes, worked hard to position his son for such success.

The Danish Foreign Ministry said it had evacuated its staff from embassies in Algeria and Afghanistan because of threats after Danish newspapers reprinted a cartoon depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad in February. Employees have been moved to secret locations in both countries' capitals and continue to work, ministry spokesman Erik Laursen said. The cartoon showed Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban. It was one of 12 Danish drawings of the prophet that caused riots in the Muslim world in 2006.

Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Denmark to protest a published series of caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. Ambassador Mohammad Ibrahim al Hejailan had been posted in Denmark since March 2003. The 12 drawings published Sept. 30, 2005, by the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten included one showing Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb. Another portrayed him with a bushy gray beard and holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle.

UCLA basketball star Shabazz Muhammad is 20 years old, not 19 as widely believed. The news comes just hours before UCLA is scheduled to play against Minnesota in its opening game of the NCAA tournament in Austin, Texas, Friday night. That revelation, first reported by the Los Angeles Times in a front page article today , has led to speculation that his NBA draft prospects could be negatively impacted. Muhammad, UCLA's leading scorer, is expected to leave the school and enter the June draft after the NCAA tournament.

As UCLA prepares to play its first game in the NCAA tournament later tonight, the Bruins will rely on their standout freshman Shabazz Muhammad to lead the way. Muhammad is under pressure: He must perform well on national television to raise his NBA draft stock, one of his talented teammates is injured and his coach's future with the team remains uncertain. He told The Times, “If we win, everything will be fine.”   The spotlight was once again on the talented freshman on Friday -- but not in a way he expected.