2,000 rally against cartoons in Pakistan capital

Thousands of Islamists today defied a ban on rallies in Pakistan’s capital, joining protesters across the country in condemning the Prophet Mohammed cartoons printed by some Western newspapers.

The demonstrations after midday prayers also gave angry clerics a platform to criticise President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and his government’s close relations with the US.

“America is the killer of humanity, and we will keep raising our voice against it, and its supporter (Musharraf),” said Maulana Fazal-ur Rahman, a cleric and opposition leader who led the Islamabad protest, which drew 2,000 people.

Peaceful protests were also held in the southern city of Karachi, Peshawar in the north-west and the eastern city of Lahore.

Before the protests, police detained dozens of activists and leaders with a radical Islamic coalition of six parties: Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), or United Action Forum. The arrests were made in Islamabad, nearby Rawalpindi and Lahore.

The most prominent person detained was the MMA’s leader, Qaazi Hussain Ahmed, who was barred from leaving the headquarters of his Jamaat-e-Islami party in Lahore. Last week, a violent rally in the city killed three people and several shops and buildings were burned by a rampaging crowd.

For the past two weeks, people have been protesting nationwide against the cartoons, mostly printed by European media who claimed to be exercising their right to freedom of the press.

The drawings are offensive to Muslims because Islamic tradition frowns on any depiction of Mohammed. The satiric nature of some of the cartoons – such as one showing Mohammed’s turban shaped as a bomb – further inflamed some Muslims.