MULTAN, 23 March 2006 — About 400 supporters of a coalition of Islamic groups gathered yesterday in an eastern Pakistani city to protest the publication of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cartoons in several European countries.
The supporters of Muttaheda Majlis-e-Amal, (MMA), chanted “Death to Denmark” and “death to the cartoonist” at the protest in the city of Multan.
Leaders of the six-party coalition made speeches condemning Denmark, where a newspaper in September first published the caricatures, one of which depicts the Prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with its fuse lit.
Newspapers in several other European countries reprinted the cartoons.
Islamic tradition bars drawings of the Prophet, favorable or otherwise, in a policy to discourage idolatry.
“Denmark has hurt the feelings of Muslims,” Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the head of the coalition, told the crowd. He called for a boycott of goods from European countries.
“America and all the European countries have challenged the honor of Muslims,” read a sign put up at the gathering.
