Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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Palestinians Protest Against Cartoons Mocking Prophet Mohammed
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=10D1840:3919ACA
Muslims around the world are outraged about publication of cartoons,
which they see as an insult to their religion Muslims around the world
are outraged and protesting against the publication of cartoons
mocking the Prophet Mohammed, which appeared first in Danish and then
other European newspapers.







Thousand of Palestinians attend a rally organized by Hamas against the
publication of cartoons in European newspapers depicting Prophet
Mohammed Hundreds of worshippers gathered at the al Aqsa Mosque
compound after Friday prayers to show their anger at what they see as
an insult to their religion.

"God is great!" they chanted. "We will sacrifice ourselves for Islam.
We send greetings from al Aqsa to bin Laden."

The protesters waved the green flags of Hamas and burned the flags of
Denmark and Norway, where the cartoons first appeared.

Palestinian journalist Khalil Assali was at the protests, and
described the scene for VOA.

"Now, they're burning the flags of Denmark and Norway," he said. "Now,
they start marching around the al Aqsa Mosque. The Israelis, actually,
they are surrounding the al Aqsa Mosque with a huge number of forces.
There is Hamas flags, what you can see is just Hamas flags."

A Danish newspaper published a series of cartoons last September, one
of which depicted the Muslim Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban in the
shape of a bomb. Other European newspapers have since reprinted the
cartoons, saying they are exercising western democracy's freedom of
speech.

For Muslims, however, it is forbidden to depict images of the prophet
Mohammed, for fear it may lead to idolatry. So, the cartoons are seen
as deeply offensive, and have sparked protests across the Islamic
world.

Some of the protesters at the al Aqsa Mosque shouted for, as they put
it, the "crusaders" to get out. And that, as Khalil Assali reports,
shows a deeper sense of anger at the West.

"There is a big flag [banner] saying that using bad words against
Islam is just another [more] evidence that the West is not respecting
us at all," he said.

Many Muslims have called for a boycott of Danish and other European
products. Some of the most vehement protests and threats have come
from Palestinians. Militants in Gaza and the West Bank have called on
Europeans to leave, saying they would become targets for kidnapping,
and gunmen threw a bomb at the French cultural center in Gaza City on
Friday.

There was a heavy police presence around Jerusalem's Old City Friday,
and Palestinians under the age of 45 were barred from entering prayers
at the al Aqsa Mosque for fear of violence afterwards.

Some young Palestinians did manage to get in, however. There was a
brief face-off with police, which ended peacefully, as demonstrators
scattered when riot police moved in on horseback.

 


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