Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi on Thursday said it was legitimate to shut down websites that incite hatred as protests sweep the Muslim world over publications seen as offensive to Islam. "It is absolutely legitimate for governments to block sites that include incitement to hatred," Terzi said, following outrage and violent protests over a short film on YouTube and a series of cartoons in a French weekly. "There is a very fine but clear line that separates freedom of religion from freedom of speech," he said.