Terry Jones, the inflammatory Florida-based pastor who brought to light the low-rent anti-Islam movie that sparked deadly riots in Egypt and Libya, says he intends to keep promoting the film despite requests from top US officials that he cease.

Jones, who heads the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, told NBC's affiliate in Orlando that he plans to bring Sam Bacile's Innocence of Muslims to an even wider audience.

"When we do our activities, when we raise our awareness of the radical element of Islam, we are posing those people absolutely no danger," Jones told the station. "We are, perhaps, insulting some people, but just because you are insulted, it gives you no right to break into someone's house, go into his yard, kill him and destroy his property. So we should by no means excuse their activities."

In a statement released yesterday prior to the attack in Benghazi that claimed the life of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other consulate staffers, Jones said he saw in the Cairo protest proof that Islam has no respect "for any other religion, any other flag, any freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of religion."

Innocence of Muslims, which depicts the Prophet Muhammad as a womanizing homosexual child molester, was promoted by Jones as part of "International Judge Muhammad Day," which he marks annually on September 11th.

Following the incident in Libya, an unnamed "top U.S. military officer" reportedly phoned Jones to ask that he withdraw his support for the film.

This isn't Jones first brush with provoking deadly riots.

A Qur'an burning stunt orchestrated last year by Jones resulted in protests across Afghanistan and elsewhere that led to the deaths of dozens, including several U.N. officials. Afghanistan has moved to block YouTube in order to prevent the spread of the video and a repeat of last year's chaos.

Meanwhile, protesters in Tunisia attempted to break into the US embassy compound in Tunis, but were rebuffed by police officers armed with tear gas. Embassies across the region were put on high alert following the events in Egypt and Libya.

[photo via AP]