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Saturday, January 17, 2015

Cartoon protest in Pakistan, three injured

A Pakistani supporter of Pakistani political and Islamic party Jammat-e-Islami (JI) joins protests against the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed by French mag...



Any religion that responds to disparaging pictures or writings of their god or prophet with violence and murder is too weak to be of any use.  Having to bolster your belief system through intimidation and physical attacks means you have no solid theological foundation and can only employ thuggish tactics to gain adherents.

This is Islam.

From the Daily Mail January 16

Clashes at Charlie Hebdo protest in Karachi, three injured

At least three people were injured Friday in clashes between anti-Charlie Hebdo protesters and police outside the French consulate in Pakistan's Karachi, officials said, including an AFP photographer who was shot in the back.

The protest by the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party was one of several staged across Pakistan by Islamist groups after Friday prayers against the French magazine's depiction of the Prophet Mohammed.

"Three injured were brought to the hospital, two were minor injuries and one photographer was serious," said Doctor Seemi Jamali, a spokeswoman for the city's main Jinnah hospital, referring to AFP's Asif Hassan, 38.

"The bullet struck his lung, and passed through his chest. He is out of immediate danger and he has spoken to his colleagues," she continued, adding that Hassan was hit by what appeared to be a live round.

The others injured were a policeman and a local TV cameraman who were discharged after receiving first aid treatment.

Senior police official Abdul Khaliq Sheikh told AFP the violence began when some 350 protesters were prevented by police from approaching the French consulate, in the southern part of the sprawling metropolis.

"When the police tried to stop them they started firing," he said, adding that the police responded with tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protesters.

Police said Hassan and the other journalist did not appear to have been deliberately targeted but were caught in crossfire when protesters shot at the police.

A witness at the scene backed the police account, though the religious party blamed the police."Police are responsible for those wounded during the protest including Asif Hasan," said Hafiz Bilal Ramzan, head of the party's student wing.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, protesters in the northwest city of Peshawar and central Multan burnt French flags on the streets, while rallies were also held in the capital Islamabad and the eastern city of Lahore.

The demonstrations come a day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif led parliament in condemning the cartoons in Charlie Hebdo, whose Paris offices were attacked last week by Islamist gunmen who killed 12 people.

The newspaper is known for ridiculing religious figures, including the pope and Mohammed, and its defiant post-attack issue released Wednesday again featured the prophet on its front page.

The new cover has sparked anger in parts of the Islamic world, with protests staged from the Philippines and Turkey to Kuwait and Mauritania.

Many Muslims find any depiction of the prophet highly offensive, let alone images satirising him.

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