Burkina Faso: President deplores Muslim violence

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso – President Blaise Compaore is calling on Muslims to stop using violence as a way of expression.

Compaore, a Christian, said that violence should not be the response of Muslims to provocations, even from the maker of the film of the Prophet Muhammad. Compaore described the filmmaker as a "brainless man who thinks he has the right to despise the religious feelings of others."

Compaore deplored the street violence of recent days, saying the "credibility and greatness" of Islam is not through violence.

Compaore's government is currently trying to negotiate with the Islamist extremists who have seized the northern half of Mali.