Muslim 'Religion of Peace' Demonstration
Part 3: Analysis
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The preceding photographs, taken at a Muslim protest rally outside the Danish embassy in London on February 3, 2006, are authentic, but contrary to what is suggested in the text the event was not billed as a "Religion of Peace demonstration." It was an angry protest over the publication of cartoons regarded as insulting to the Prophet Muhammad.
The event was one of many similar held worldwide during the weeks following the initial publication of the cartoons in a Danish newspaper and their subsequent replication by other sources. As many as 700 marchers participated in the February 3 rally, some chanting slogans and waving placards such as those shown in the photos threatening violence toward "those who insult Islam."
The threats were condemned not only by British authorities and members of the general public but by some Islamic leaders as well. In a statement to the BBC News Web site, Asghar Bukhari, chairman of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee in London, decried the inflammatory statements as "disgraceful and disgusting" and not representative of the feelings of typical Muslims.
Heeding public calls for the prosecution of those responsible, Scotland Yard arrested five of the protesters in March 2006, charging the lot with suspicion of inciting racial hatred and four with suspicion of incitement to murder.
Sources and further reading:
Cartoon Protest Slogans Condemned
BBC News, 5 February 2006Muslim Leader Condemns Protesters
BBC News, 4 February 2006Muslim Protests Are Incitement to Murder, Say Tories
The Telegraph, 5 February 2006Arrests Over Cartoon Protests
The Telegraph, 16 March 2006
Last updated: 08/03/06
