FRANCE-SHOOTING/PAKISTAN-PROTEST Pakistani Islamists protest against Charlie Hebdo cartoons, burn French flag
Record ID:
324458
FRANCE-SHOOTING/PAKISTAN-PROTEST Pakistani Islamists protest against Charlie Hebdo cartoons, burn French flag
- Title: FRANCE-SHOOTING/PAKISTAN-PROTEST Pakistani Islamists protest against Charlie Hebdo cartoons, burn French flag
- Date: 8th February 2015
- Summary: LAHORE , PAKISTAN (FEBRUARY 8, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS OF ISLAMIST GROUP 'AHLE SUNNAT' MARCHING, CHANTING "O PROPHET OF ALLAH" PLACARD READING (Arabic/Urdu): "O PROPHET OF ALLAH. OUR LIVES ARE READY TO BE LAID DOWN FOR YOU" MORE OF PROTESTERS MARCHING PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNER READING (Urdu) : "THE ONLY PUNISHMENT FOR A BLASPHEMER IS SEPARATING HIS HEAD FROM HIS BODY" PROTESTERS CHANTING: "DEATH IS ACCEPTABLE IN THE SERVICE OF THE PROPHET" LOCAL LEADER OF RELIGIOUS GROUP AHLE SUNNAT, MOHAMMAD ZAFAR IQBAL SIALVI, AND PROTESTERS CHANTING: "O PROPHET! O PROPHET!" PROTESTERS CHANTING: "WE ARE SLAVES OF THE PROPHET. DEATH IS ACCEPTABLE IN THE SERVICE OF THE PROPHET": (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) LOCAL LEADER OF RELIGIOUS GROUP AHLE SUNNAT, MOHAMMAD ZAFAR IQBAL SIALVI, SAYING: "We want to tell the world that we are not willing to tolerate a blasphemer in any part of the world." POLICE VAN AHEAD OF PROTESTERS MARCHING VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING THROUGH CLOSED MARKET VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS LISTENING TO SPEECHES PROTESTERS SETTING FRENCH FLAG ON FIRE VARIOUS OF FRENCH FLAGS BURNING
- Embargoed: 23rd February 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Pakistan
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA2O5HB1CCU9JR8C56GOAXUEKE0
- Story Text: Hundreds of supporters of a religious group rallied in Pakistan's Lahore on Sunday (February 8) in protest against the latest caricature of the Prophet Mohammad, which was published on the front cover of Charlie Hebdo following an attack by extremists on the magazine's Paris offices.
Supporters of Ahle Sunnat marched through the streets and markets of the city, chanting "O Prophet of Allah!"
The protesters demanded the beheading of the publishers of the cartoons. One banner read: "The only punishment for a blasphemer is separating his head from his body."
Mohammad Zafar Iqbal Sialvi, a local leader of Ahle Sunnat, said every Muslim man, woman and child was ready to take action to punish the blasphemers.
"We want to tell the world that we are not willing to tolerate a blasphemer in any part of the world," Sialvi said.
The protesters later set two French flags on fire.
Charlie Hebdo, which has published controversial cartoons mocking Islam and its Prophet on several occasions, is not available in Pakistan either in print or online.
Islamist gunmen stormed the offices of the French satirical magazine in Paris on January 7, killing 12 people. In response, the magazine published an issue with an image of the Prophet Mohammed weeping on the cover. This has caused outrage in deeply conservative Pakistan and several protests have been organised. The protests have been mainly peaceful though in one protest in Karachi a photographer working for French news agency AFP was wounded the in clashes.
The attack on the magazine has shocked the West where many saw it as an assault on freedom of speech.
But the publication has also outraged many Muslims who think that any description of the Prophet is disrespectful of their religion. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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