• Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 12 September 2012 11.01 EDT

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has called for efforts to stop the release of the 'offensive' US anti-Islam movie. Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, has condemned the film that sparked violence in Libya and Egypt as an abhorrence and insult to all Muslims, warning that it would damage inter-faith relations.

The strongly worded statement is likely to be the first many Afghans hear of the once obscure, 13-minute film, which was made by a California property developer and attacks the prophet Muhammad, suggesting he was a fraud. The low-budget film, appearing like a trailer, was first shown on YouTube, then on Egyptian television.