A Sydney rally against images of the prophet Muhammad on Friday finished with dozens bowed in prayer under floodlights, after speeches urging Muslims not to “turn the other cheek” to satirical portrayals of Islam’s last and most revered messenger.
About 800 attended the Lakemba rally carrying signs that read Je Suis Muslim, I Love My Prophet, and Muhammad, Our Leader Forever.
“If [the prophet] was here today he would deliver the same words, and would extend the same hands, and despite all the insult and ridicule, would open his arms with the greatest warmth, the level of which some would accuse us of being the cause of climate change today,” the crowd was told.
“Unlike Christianity and Judaism, which has given in to the secular worldview, Islam has refused to give in to this worldview,” one speaker said.
“We have held many public events over many years in this country and they’ve never turned violent. We’re in constant touch with police to make sure our events run smoothly,” one other speaker said.
“We Muslims are here tonight as an expression of love, a respectful, peaceful demonstration of our love for a man we revere and hold close to our hearts.”
On January 14, the French satirical weekly, whose Paris office was attacked by two gunmen on January 7, once again published a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad on the cover of its new edition despite warnings that the move is provocative.
The al-Qaeda branch in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack on Charlie Hebdo.
The French magazine has repeatedly provoked Muslim anger by publishing cartoons of Prophet Mohammad.