The incarcerated writer/director of controversial anti-Islam movie Innocence Of Muslims has finally spoken out to defend his film, which sparked violent clashes and anti-American hostilities in the Middle East.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula insists he still firmly supports the idea behind his film, which stirred up emotions after a 14-minute trailer debuted on YouTube.com this summer (12), insisting he now wishes he had taken the message further.

The filmmaker, who is currently serving a year behind bars after violating the terms of his probation relating to a 2010 bank fraud conviction, tells the New York Times from behind bars, "I thought, before I wrote this script that I should burn myself in a public square to let the American people and the people of the world know this message that I believe in."

The controversial film features anti-Islam imagery and chronicles the twisted beginnings of Islam. It is believed to be inspired by various terrorist attacks carried out by Muslim extremists throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Nakoula reportedly duped his actors into appearing in the film, which was initially titled Desert Warrior. One of the actresses, Cindy Lee Garcia, who is attempting to sue the producers of the movie, tells The Hollywood Reporter her voice was dubbed.

She adds, "I had no idea he did that until the trailer came out. My only part was the role of a mother talking to her husband, her daughter and this man named Master George. I have the full script of what I said. They were saying, 'Praise God, praise God,' because my daughter was going to be given in marriage to this man called Master George by my husband, so I mocked him for worshipping this man. They dubbed 'Master George' to say 'Muhammad.'"