“We are pained by this deliberate insult against our religion under the pretext of freedom of expression.” Well, we are pained by this deliberate assault upon our freedom of speech under the pretext of an insult to your religion.
The Tiny Minority of Extremists numbered in the tens of thousands in Nigeria; the Vast Majority of Peaceful Muslims was nowhere to be seen. “Tens of thousands protest anti-Islam film in Nigeria,” from the Daily Times, September 23 (thanks to Kenneth):
KANO: Tens of thousands of people on Saturday protested on the streets of Nigeria’s second city of Kano against an anti-Islam film made in the US that has stirred outrage across the Muslim world.
The crowd of demonstrators stretched several kilometres (miles) through the city, the largest in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, with protesters shouting “death to America, death to Israel and death to the enemies of Islam”.
The rally was organised by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, which has operated in Africa’s most populous country since the late 1970s. “We are out today to express our rage and disapproval over this blasphemous film,” said Muhammed Turi, a protest leader and member of the Islamic Movement. “This protest is also aimed at calling on the US government to put a halt to further blasphemy against Islam,” he added.
Demonstrators carried pictures of US President Barack Obama, as well as American and Israeli flags as they marched towards a palace owned by the Emir of Kano, the top religious figure in the city of roughly 4.5 million people. Others were seen waving Iranian flags.
Turi addressed the crowd outside Kano’s central mosque, adjacent to the Emir’s palace, before the rally ended with no incidents of violence reported. “We are pained by this deliberate insult against our religion under the pretext of freedom of expression,” he told the protesters….